iniht€iiptiiMt\»ft^xk 


l^tUrmtt  ffitbrarg 


FATIGUE  STUDY 


Fig.  1 
This  is  a  picture  of  tlie  pin  plan  we  use,  wliicli  sliows  the 
city  as  divided  into  districts,  and  whicli  shows  tlie  collectors 
and  contributors,  as  marked  by  different  coloured  i)ins. 


FATIGUE  STUDY 

The  Elimination  of  Humanity's  Greatest 
Unnecessary  Waste 

A  FIRST  STEP  IN  MOTION  STUDY 


BY 
FRANK  B.   GILBRETH 

Member  of  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers 

AND 

LILLIAN  M.   GILBRETH,  Ph.   D. 


STURGIS  &  WALTON 

COMPANY 

1916 

All  rights  reserved 


/  c 


Copyright,  1916 
By  STURGIS  &  WALTON  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  February,  1916. 


PREFACE 

In  the  final  analysis,  that  organization  is  best 
that  has  the  best  quality  of  workers.  No  or- 
ganization can  continue  to  be  of  first  quality 
whose  workers  are  over-fatigued.  Other  things 
being  equal,  that  country  will  be  most  happy  and 
most  successful  whose  workers  have  the  least  un- 
necessary fatigue. 

Aside  from  the  pleasure  one  may  obtain  from 
it,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  eliminate  the 
causes  of  unnecessary  fatigue,  and  to  promote 
the  dissemination  of  knowledge  of  how  to  recover 
most  quickly  from  unnecessary  and  necessary  fa- 
tigue. 

Fatigue  study  rests  on  scientific  investigation 
that  requires  the  special  training  of  an  expert, 
and  laboratory  methods  and  equipment;  but 
there  are  elementary  methods  of  studying  and 
eliminating  fatigue  that  are  not  only  so  simple 
that  any.  one  can  understand  and  apply  them,  but 
that  are  also  a  definite  stage  in  the  preparation 
of  the  fatigue  study  expert. 


PREFACE 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  book  to  outline  both  these 
preliminary  methods  and  the  scientific  methods 
of  fatigue  elimination  and  to  put  the  available 
material  for  fatigue  study  into  such  shape  that 
any  one  interested  may  make  immediate,  definite, 
and  profitable  use  of  it. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER.  I 

A  DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE  OF 
FATIGUE  STUDY :     WHAT  MUST  BE  DONE 

PAGE 

Fatigue  Study  and  Waste 3 

What  Fatigue  Is 4 

What  Fatigue  Study  Is 7 

The  Field  of  This  Book 7 

The  Relation  of  Fatigue  Study  to  Measueed  Func- 
tional Management 9 

Relation  of  Fatigue  Study  to  Motion  Study  ...  11 

The  Classes  of  Fatigue 13 

The  Peoblems  of  Fatigue  Study 14 

The  jNIethods  of  Fatigue  Study 14 

Emphasis  in  Fatigue  Study 15 

A  WoBK  fob  Eveby  One 16 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  FATIGUE  SURVEY :     WHAT  IS  TO  BE  DONE 

What  a  Survey  Is 18 

The  General  Suevey  and  the  Fatigue  Survey      .     .  19 

The  Aims  of  the  Fatigue  Subvey 19 

The  Time  and  Place  of  Making  the  Survey      ...  20 

The  Qualification  of  the  Subvey  Makeb  ....  22 

What  to  Look  Foe 25 

Variables  That  Affect  Fatigue 29 

The  Subvey  Recoed  Sheet 30 

Survey  Photogbaphs 31 

Making  the  Subvey  Serviceable 32 

CHAPTER  III 

PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST  FOR  OVER- 
COMING FATIGUE:  W^HAT  CAN  BE  DONE 
NOW 

Peovision  fob  Rest 38 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chairs  to  Make  the  Rest  Most  Effective    ....    42 

Betterment  Wobk        47 

RESUIiTS 49 

CHAPTER  IV 

HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT:     A  PRAC- 
TICAL ILLUSTRATION 

What  It  Is 54 

The  Bos  in  the  Plant 55 

The  Plant  as  a  Souece  of  Supply      ......  55 

The   Home   Element 58 

Routing  the  Magazines 61 

The  Problem  of  Maintenance 63 

How  the  Conditions  Vaby 67 

The  Home  Reading  Box  and  Fatigue 69 

The  By-Peoducts  of  the  Home  Reading  Box  Move- 
ment         70 

How  to  Begin     . ;  '^^ 

CHAPTER  V 

PRELIMINARY   FATIGUE  ELIMINATION: 
WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE  NOW 

The  Lighting  Problem 77 

The  Heating,  Cooling,  and  Ventilating  Problem    .     .  82 

Fire  Protection 84 

Safety  Protection 85 

The  Work  Place 88 

The  Work-bench  or  Table 90 

The  Chair  or  Other  Fatigue-Eliminating  Device  .     .  91 

Placing  the  Material  Worked  On 93 

The  Placing  of  Tools  and  Devices 94 

The  Clothing  of  the  Worker .  95 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM:     AN  OBJECT  LESSON 

What  a  Fatigue  Museum   Is 99 

The  Parent  Fatigue  Museum 100 

What  the  Fatigue  Museum  Contains 102 

What  the  Museum  Does  not  Contain 102 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Types  of  Chaibs  and  Their  Uses  .......  104 

Other  Fatigue  Eliminating  Devices 108 

How  TO  Use  the  Devices 109 

Starting  Your  Own  Fatigue  Museum Ill 

CHAPTER  VII 

FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT :     HOW  TO  ATTACK 
THE  PROBLEM  SCIENTIFICALLY 

History  of  Fatigue  Measurement 114 

Fatigue,  a  Test  of  Efficient  Activity 116 

The  Activity 117 

Motion  Study,  Micromotion  Study,  the  Cyclegkaph, 
AND  the  Chronocyclegraph   Method   as   Measures 

OF  Activity 118 

Testing  the  Work  by  Motions  Required 123 

Testing  Workers  by  Motion  Capabilities     ....  124 
The  Use  of  Activity  Records  as  Data  for  Eliminat- 
ing Fatigue     ....  124 

The  Time  Element 125 

The  Standardization  of  Work  and  Rest      ....  127 

CHAPTER  VIII 

MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS:  HOW  PRESENT  PRAC- 
TICE IS  DEVELOPED  INTO  STANDARD  PRAC- 
TICE 

A  Concrete  Example  of  Making  Adjustments  .     .     .  132 

Former  Method  of  Assembly 133 

How  the  New  Practice  Was  Derived 134 

The  Two  Factors  to  Be  Considered 134 

Outline  of  the  Changes  to  Be  Made 135 

The  Solution  of  the  Problem 135 

Final  Adjustment 139 

Changes  in  Type  of  Work  Demanded 140 

Change  in  Mental  Attitude 140 

Value  of  This  Example 140 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE    OUTCOME:     HOW    FAR    HAVE    WE    AT- 
TAINED OUR  AIM? 

The  Tests  of  General  Health 142 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Test  of  Prolonged  Activity 143 

The  Test  of  Posture 144 

The  Test  of  Behaviour  and  Implied  Mental  Attitude.  146 

The  Test  of  Transference  of  Skill 148 

Test  of  "  Happiness  Minutes,"  Individual  and  Social  149 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  FUTURE :     WHAT  EACH  ONE  OF  US  CAN  DO 

The  Work  of  the  Colleges       .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .  153 

The  Work  of  the  Manager 155 

The  Work  of  the  Worker 156 

The  Work  of  the  Public      ........••  157 


FATIGUE  STUDY 


FATIGUE  STUDY 

CHAPTEK  I 

A  DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE  OP 
FATIGUE  STUDY:      WHAT   MUST  BE  DONE 

Fatigue  Study  and  Waste. 

In  "Motion  Study"  we  stated:  "There  is 
no  waste  of  any  kind  in  the  world  that  equals 
the  waste  from  needless,  ill-directed,  and  inef- 
fective motions."^  It  is  an  aspect  of  wasted 
motions  that  we  are  discussing  here.  Wasted 
motions  mean  wasted  effort  and  wasted  time. 
One  of  the  results  of  this  waste  is  unnecessary 
fatigue,  caused  by  unnecessary  effort  expended 
during  time  that  must,  as  a  result,  be  wasted. 
Time,  a  lifetime,  is  our  principal  inheritance. 
To  waste  any  of  it  is  to  lose  part  of  our  principal 
asset.  To  waste  time  and  to  suffer  from  un- 
necessary fatigue  simultaneously  can  be  excused 

1  See  "  Motion  Study,"  p.  2. 
3 


4i  FATIGUE  STUDY 

only  by  ignorance.  Unnecessary  fatigue  is 
caused  by  some  one's  ignorance.  This  book  aims 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  world  to  the  relation- 
ship between  fatigue  and  waste,  with  the  hope 
that  the  knowledge  of  our  methods  of  fatigue 
elimination  may  be  useful  to  others. 

What  Fatigue  Is. 

A  crowd  of  workers  come  out  of  the  factory 
after  the  day's  work.  Some  rush  home;  others 
walk  at  a  leisurely  pace.  Some  move  slowly  and 
with  effort.  Some  have  their  heads  back  and  a 
satisfied  expression  on  their  faces.  Others  have 
their  heads  bent  forward,  and  look  as  though 
life  were  not  worth  while.  What  is  the  differ- 
ence between  the  members  of  this  group? 
Mainly  a  matter  of  fatigue.  Fatigue  is  the 
after-effect  of  work.  It  is  the  condition  of  the 
worker's  organism  after  he  has  expended  energy 
in  doing  something.  It  is  a  necessary  by-prod- 
uct of  activity.  If,  as  is  presumable,  every  mem- 
ber of  our  crowd  of  workers  has  been  putting  in 
a  day  full  of  activity,  we  might  expect  to  see  the 
same  marks  of  fatigue  on  every  face  and  figure, — 
but  we  do  not. 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE         5 

What,  then,  are  the  reasons  for  the  difference? 
The  state  of  fatigue  has  only  been  systematically 
studied  during  the  past  thirty  years.  Even  to- 
day it  is  not  wholly  understood.  We  do  know, 
however,  several  things  about  it,  that  may  ex- 
plain what  we  see  in  the  emerging  group.  We 
know  that  fatigue  is  marked  by  a  decrease  in 
power  to  work,  a  decrease  in  pleasure  taken  in 
work,  and  a  decrease  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
hours  spent  away  from  work.  We  know  that 
exertion  not  only  uses  up  temporarily  the  energy 
of  the  body,  but  that  it  also  seems  to  generate  a 
sort  of  poison  which  "  slows  one  down  "  for  the 
time  being.  In  the  third  place,  we  know,  also, 
that  the  effects  of  fatigue  are  more  difficult  to 
overcome  as  the  fatigue  becomes  greater.  Care- 
ful observation  and  records  show  that  a  little 
fatigue  is  easily  overcome  if  proper  rest  is  sup- 
plied immediately.  Twice  the  amount  of  fatigue 
requires  more  than  twice  the  amount  of  rest. 
Four  times  the  amount  of  fatigue  demands  much 
more  than  twice  as  much  rest  as  the  preceding 
"more  than  twice  the  amount  of  rest,"  until, 
finally,  a  state  of  excessive  fatigue  requires  a 
rest  period  that  might  have  to  be  prolonged  in- 


6  FATIGUE  STUDY 

definitely.  It  is  this  fact  that  lies  at  the  basis  of 
the  great  unnecessary  waste  in  accumulated  fa- 
tigue. 

The  trouble  with  these  tired  workers,  then,  is 
that  their  work  has  not  been  arranged  in  the 
least  fatiguing  manner  nor  in  such  a  way  that 
they  could  get  the  most  rest  and  recovery  in  the 
least  amount  of  idle  time  during  the  working 
hours.  The  ones  whose  heads  are  high  and  whose 
shoulders  are  thrown  back  may  have  been  pro- 
vided in  some  way  with  sufficient  rest.  The  ones 
whose  heads  are  bowed  probably  have  not  had 
the  recovery  time  that  they  needed.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  those  who  have  had  all  the  rest  they 
needed  have  not  produced  as  much  as  have  the 
others.  The  remedy  for  this  may  not  lie  in  short- 
ening the  rest,  but  in  improving  work  methods. 
The  waste  in  work  not  done,  or  in  work  done  vsdth 
the  wrong  method,  is  a  serious  economic  waste. 
The  waste  in  unnecessary  fatigue  is  not  only  an 
economic  waste,  it  is  a  waste  of  life,  and  it  calls 
for  immediate  attention  from  every  one  of  us, 
whether  interested  in  the  individual,  the  group, 
or  the  economic  prosperity  of  our  country. 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE         7 

What  Fatigue  Study  Is. 

Our  fatigue  study  is  an  attack  upon  this  un- 
necessary waste  of  human  energy.  It  is  a  careful 
consideration  of  the  problem  of  activity  from  the 
side  of  its  results  upon  the  human  organism.  It 
aims: 

1.  To  determine  accurately  what  fatigue  re- 

sults from  doing  various  types  of  work. 

2.  To  eliminate  all  unnecessary  fatigue. 

3.  To  reduce  the  necessary  fatigue  to  the 

lowest  amount  possible. 

4.  To  provide  all  possible  means  for  over- 

coming fatigue. 

5.  To  put  the  facts  obtained  from  the  study 

into  such  form  that  every  worker  can 
use  them  for  himself  to  get  more  out  of 
life. 

The  Field  of  This  Book. 

The  reader  who  will  carefully  watch  the  tired 
crowd  of  workers  will  probably  decide  that  he 
would  like  to  do  something  about  the  fatigue 
problem  immediately.  There  are  various  meth- 
ods by  which  he  may  attack  the  problem.  He 
may,  and  must,  ultimately,  review  the  literature 


8  FATIGUE  STUDY 

on  fatigue.  The  work  of  Marey,  of  Amar,  of  Im- 
bert,  of  Offner,  of  Thorndike,  and  of  numerous 
other  physiologists  and  psychologists  lies  open  to 
the  student  of  the  subject.  He  may  turn  im- 
mediately to  Miss  Josephine  Goldmark's  mas- 
terly volume  on  "  Fatigue  and  Efficiency."  This 
will  give  him  an  insight  into  the  application  of 
fatigue  elimination  to  the  industries.  He  may 
decide,  however,  that  such  study  must  wait,  and 
that  he  must  actually  do  something  to  cut  down 
the  fatigue  the  first  thing  the  next  morning,  while 
the  driving  force  of  what  he  has  seen  is  still 
strong.  Nothing  can  mean  so  much  to  what  he 
is  to  do  as  the  strong  incentive  that  drives  him 
to  doing  it,  the  desire  to  help.  But  he  will  do 
best  if  he  is  instructed  and  directed.  He  should 
plan,  in  order  that  he  may  do  the  most  in  the 
least  amount  of  time,  and  do  the  big,  easy,  ob- 
vious things  first. 

This  book  will  outline  a  method  of  attack,  and 
furnish  a  working  practice  for  attacking  the  fa- 
tigue problem  in  an  industrial  plant.  This  prac- 
tice is  recommended  because  it  rests  on  the  re- 
sults of  measurement.  We  have  here  not  simply 
a  collection  of  illustrations  that  show  what  has 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE         9 

been  done  in  eliminating  fatigue  in  the  indus- 
tries. All  fatigue  elimination  is  to  be  com- 
mended, but  illustrations  that  do  not  embody 
well-recognized  principles  are  questionable  mod- 
els. It  is  easy  to  make  external  changes  that 
never  touch  the  underlying  cause  of  evil.  Worth- 
while, permanent  fatigue  elimination  goes  at  the 
fundamentals  of  the  work  itself,  and  studies  these 
in  relation  to  the  fatigue.  What  has  been  done 
is  worth  while  when  we  know  how  it  has  been 
done,  and  why  it  has  been  done.  Given  these 
facts,  we  can  determine  how  it  may  be  done  again 
in  the  same  fashion  and  possibly  even  better. 
The  practice  that  is  the  result  of  accurate  meas- 
urement,—  this  is  the  standard  to  be  demanded. 

The  Relation  o£  Fatigue  Study  to  Measured 
Functional  Management. 

Fatigue  study  is  founded  on  measurement. 
This  makes  it  an  integral  part  of  measured  func- 
tional management.  This  is  management  that 
acts  in  accordance  with  standards.  These  stand- 
ards are  derived  by  actually  measuring  accur- 
ately what  is  happening.  Standards  contain  the 
results  of  the  measurement  combined  into  new 


10  FATIGUE  STUDY 

working  metliods.  These  standards  are  main- 
tained only  until  they  can  be  improved,  when 
the  new  ones  are  in  turn  measured  and  main- 
tained. Such  accurate  measurement  demands 
that  the  problem  of  management  be  divided  into 
measurable  units.  These  units  are  made  as 
small  as  possible,  and  constantly  smaller  as  time 
goes  on.  It  was  the  great  work  of  Doctor  Tay- 
lor to  divide  an  operation,  that  is,  a  piece  of 
work  to  be  measured,  into  units  for  timing  with  a 
stop  watch,  and  to  separate  rest  units  from  work 
units. 

From  its  beginning.  Scientific  Management  has 
recognized  the  importance  of  the  part  played 
by  fatigue.  This  recognition  helps  to  obtain  that 
co-operation  and  permanent  beneficial  efficiency 
that  are  the  underlying  ideas  and  the  maintain- 
ing forces  in  this  type  of  management.  But  fa- 
tigue study  has  only  recently  been  acknowledged 
as  fundamental  to  the  most  efficient  management. 
Any  one  can  attack  the  fatigue  problem  in  its 
present  condition  in  the  industries  successfully. 
He  has  simply  to  apply  measurement.  He  can 
do  this  without  regarding  the  investigations  and 
results  of  others,  if  he  chooses,  but  he  will  pro- 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE      11 

gress  faster  and  farther  if  he  uses  results  already 
at  hand,  and  improves  on  "  the  best  that  has  been 
known  and  thought  in  the  world." 

Relation  of  Fatigue  Study  to  Motion  Study. 

Motion  study  has  been  described  as  the  divid- 
ing of  the  elements  of  the  work  into  the  most 
elementary  subdivisions  possible,  studying  and 
measuring  the  variables  of  these  fundamental 
units  separately  and  in  relation  to  one  another, 
and  from  these*  studied,  chosen  units,  after  they 
have  been  derived,  building  up  methods  of  least 
waste.  It  is  through  the  measuring  of  motions 
that  one  comes  to  realize  most  strongly  the  neces- 
sity of  fatigue  study. 

There  has  come,  in  the  past  twenty-five  years, 
a  strong  general  realization  that  the  important 
factor  in  doing  work  is  the  human  factor,  or  the 
human  element.  Improvement  in  working  ap- 
paratus of  any  type  is  important  in  its  effect 
upon  the  human  being  who  is  to  use  the  appa- 
ratus. The  moment  one  begins  to  make  man,  the 
worker,  the  centre  of  activity,  he  appreciates  that 
he  has  two  elements  to  measure.  One  is  the  ac- 
tivity itself.     This  includes  the  motions,  seen  or 


12  FATIGUE  STUDY 

unseen,  made  by  the  worker, —  what  is  done  and 
how  it  is  done.  The  other  is  the  fatigue.  This 
includes  the  length  and  nature  of  the  interval 
or  rest  period  required  for  the  worker  to  recover 
his  original  condition  of  working  power. 

Any  one  who  makes  real  motion  study,  or  ana- 
lyzes motion  study  data,  cannot  fail  to  realize 
constantly  the  relationship  of  motion  study  to 
fatigue  study.  The  fatigue  is  the  more  interest- 
ing element,  in  that  it  is  the  more  difficult  to 
determine  exactly.  When  we  recognize  this  close 
relationship  between  motion  study  and  fatigue 
study,  we  see  that  we  have  a  body  of  data  al- 
ready collected  and  at  our  disposal.  What  is 
even  more  desirable,  we  have  a  method  of  meas- 
urement ready  at  our  hand.  Every  observation 
of  a  motion  may  be  used  to  give  information 
about  fatigue.  Is  this  information  of  immedi- 
ate use  to  the  man  who  is  attacking  his  fatigue 
problem  for  the  first  time  to-day?  Yes,  and  no. 
Yes,  in  that  it  is  at  his  disposal.  No,  in  that  he 
must  determine  his  own  particular  problem  be- 
fore he  can  start  to  solve  it.  The  first  step  in 
this  direction  lies  in  classifying  fatigue. 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE       IS 

The  Classes  of  Fatigue. 

There  are  two  classes  of  fatigue: 

1.  Unnecessary  fatigue,  which  results  from 
unnecessary  effort,  or  work  which  does 
not  need  to  be  done  at  all.  A  typical  ex- 
ample of  such  work  is  that  of  the  brick- 
layer, who  furnished  one  of  the  first  sub- 
jects for  motion  study.  Any  one  who  has 
watched  a  bricklayer  lift  all  of  his  body 
above  the  waist,  together  with  the  bricks 
and  mortar  from  the  level  of  his  feet  to 
the  top  of  a  wall,  cannot  fail  to  realize 
that  bricklaying  requires  a  great  amount 
of  energy  as  well  as  skill.  Yet  by  far 
the  most  of  the  energy  expended  in  the 
method  of  laying  bricks,  that  had  existed 
for  centuries,  was  entirely  unnecessary.^ 

2.  Necessary  fatigue,  which  results  from 
work  that  must  be  done.  The  new 
method,  which  enabled  this  same  brick- 
layer to  lay  three  hundred  and  fifty  bricks 
per  hour,  where  he  had  laid  one  hundred 
and  twenty  bricks  per  hour  before,  did 

1  See  "  Bricklaying  System,"  chapter  xiv.    Myron 
C.  Clark  Co.,  Chicago. 


14  FATIGUE  STUDY 

not  eliminate,  and  did  not  expect  to  elimi- 
nate all  of  the  fatigue  accumulated  in  the 
working  day.  The  bricklayer  at  the  end 
of  the  day,  by  reason  of  motion  study  de- 
vices, laid  more  brick,  but  was  neverthe- 
less much  less  tired.  Experimental  work 
in  his  case  was  carried  to  a  high  degree 
of  perfection,  because  he  was  recognized 
as  a  splendid  type  of  efficient  brawn. 

The  Problems  of  Fatigue  Study. 

The  problems  of  fatigue  study  are,  then,  four, 
which  may  be  stated  in  very  simple  terms : 

1.  To  determine  what  fatigue  is  unnecessary. 

2.  To  determine  what  fatigue  is  necessary. 

3.  To  eliminate  all  unnecessary  fatigue  pos- 
sible. 

4.  To  distribute  the  necessary  fatigue  prop- 
erly, and  to  provide  the  best  possible 
means  for  speedy  and  complete  recovery. 

The  Methods  of  Fatigue  Study. 

The  methods  used  must  rest  on  a  scientific 
basis.  These  methods  are  the  same  for  the  ex- 
pert and  for  the  man  making  his  first  attack  on 
the  problem.    They  are  as  follows : 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE       15 

1.  Record  present  practice,  make  an  accu- 
rate and  complete  account  in  writing  of 
what  is  actually  being  done. 

2.  Decide  in  what  sequence  things  are  to  be 
measured,  and  put  them  in  such  shape 
that  they  can  be  measured. 

3.  Apply  accurate  measurement. 

4.  Determine  standards  synthetically  from 
the  measurement,  and  make  such  changes 
in  practice  as  will  make  it  conform  to 
the  standard. 

5.  Compare  the  new  standard  practice  with 
the  old  practice.  Determine  exactly  what 
improvements  have  been  made,  in  order 
to  be  able  to  predict  the  line  along  which 
new  improvements  must  lie. 

This  is  the  standard  method  of  attack  of  meas- 
ured functional  management.  It  can  be  the 
more  successfully  applied  to  fatigue  study  in  that 
the  results  can  be  checked  at  every  point  by  the 
results  of  motion  study,  which  bear  a  constant 
relation  to  them. 

Emphasis  in  Fatigue  Study. 

Any  such  study  as  this  demands  an  emphasis 
upon  accuracy.    The  man  making  the  study  must 


X6  FATIGUE  STUDY 

have  a  strong  desire  for  finding  and  writing  down 
the  facts.  He  must  have  willingness  to  submit 
every  aspect  of  the  problem  he  is  studying  to  the 
test  of  accurate  measurement.  Along  with  this 
desire  for  facts  must  go  a  realization  of  how  the 
facts  are  to  be  used.  Fatigue  study  is  a  con- 
structive study.  It  builds  up.  It  uses  such 
terms  as  "  elimination,"  but  its  fundamental  aim 
is  conservation,  and  this  conservation  includes 
adding  to  those  things  which  make  life  worth 
while.  The  desire  to  act  as  a  force  for  better- 
ment must  be  the  incentive  that  makes  the  man 
doing  fatigue  study  ready  to  record  and  face  the 
actual  facts. 

A  Work  for  Every  One. 

Kecording  facts  is  difficult  work,  but  there  is 
no  one  who  cannot  do  some  of  it.  It  is  the  duty 
of  every  man  to  face  the  facts  with  which  he 
works  and  to  record  them.  You  have  come  from 
the  crowd  of  tired  workers  with  an  incentive  to 
do  this.  Here  is  the  method  by  which  it  may  be 
done. 


DESCRIPTION  AND  GENERAL  OUTLINE      17 

Summary. 

Fatigue  study  is  related  to  motion  study  in 
that  both  are  branches  of  waste  elimination.  Fa- 
tigue study  classifies  fatigue,  and  outlines  meth- 
ods by  which  unnecessary  fatigue  may  be  elimi- 
nated and  rest  from  necessary  fatigue  may  be 
provided. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  FATIGUE  SURVEY:   WHAT  IS  TO  BE  DONE 

What  a  Survey  Is. 

A  survey  is  an  attempt  to  record  existing  con- 
ditions.    It  gives : 

1.  A  general  view. 

2.  A  more  particular  or  intensive  study  of 
the  various  parts  of  the  whole  and  their 
relation  to  one  another. 

It  may  include  recommendations  for  improve- 
ment, but  its  primary  purpose  is  to  record  what 
actually  exists. 

The  survey  is  a  systematic  study  of  existing 
conditions.  Those  making  it  have  always  a  well- 
defined  plan  in  mind.  It  is  necessary,  in  order 
to  maintain  a  proper  balance  for  the  completed 
survey,  to  give  a  properly  proportioned  represen- 
tation of  what  happens,  with  no  element  omitted 
or  over-emphasized. 

18 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  19 

The  General  Survey  and  the  Fatigue  Survey. 

The  fatigue  survey  should  be  a  department  of 
the  general  survey.  A  description  of  the  appar- 
ent causes  of  fatigue,  or  of  the  devices  present 
that  eliminate  fatigue,  can  mean  little  without 
the  accompanying  description  of  the  worker,  the 
conditions  of  the  work  and  the  work  itself.  The 
fatigue  survey  might  be  made  without  a  general 
survey.  From  the  results,  fatigue  might  be 
eliminated,  or  better  means  for  overcoming  fa- 
tigue provided,  but  there  would  be  no  assurance 
that  the  records  applied  would  be  efficient,  or 
do  lasting  good,  if  the  causes  of  fatigue  were  not 
understood.  The  causes  could  not  be  under- 
stood without  the  general  survey.  The  fatigue 
element  receives  more  emphasis  than  any  other 
element  of  the  general  survey.  We  look  for  fa- 
tigue first,  last,  and  all  the  time,  but  we  record 
with  it  all  the  attending  circumstances  that  we 
can  observe  or  discover. 

The  Aims  of  the  Fatigue  Survey. 
The  fatigue  survey  aims : 

1.  To  present  an  accurate  picture  of  exist- 
ing conditions  from  the  fatigue  stand- 
point. 


20  FATIGUE  STUDY 

2.  To  enable  all  interested  in  fatigue  elimi- 
nation to  visualize  the  problem  thor- 
oughly. 

3.  To  divide  the  problem  of  fatigue  elimina- 
tion into  such  working  units  that  it  may 
be  possible  to  attack  the  problem  success- 
fully from  the  start. 

4.  To  arouse  the  interest  of  every  member  of 
the  organization  in  fatigue  and  its  elimi- 
nation. 

5.  To  show  the  relation  between  fatigue  and 
activity. 

6.  To  teach  every  member  of  the  organiza- 
tion to  conserve  his  working  powers. 

The  Time  and  Place  of  Making  the  Survey. 

The  survey  should  be  made  as  soon  as  plans  for 
making  it  are  completed,  and  before  any  changes 
in  the  actual  practice  are  made.  If  there  is  any 
idea  of  changing  the  type  of  management,  it  may 
well  be  made  even  before  such  a  change  is  thor- 
oughly outlined.  It  is  the  first  step  to  be  taken 
by  any  organization  which  is  thinking  of  intro- 
ducing the  scientific  type  of  management.  The 
entire  "plant"  should  be  surveyed.    The  work 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  21 

should  start  where  there  is  the  most  fatigue,  and 
where  the  greatest  amount  of  good  can  be  done 
immediately.     This,  for  several  reasons ;  such  as : 

1.  The  largest  amount  of  waste  can  thus  be 
eliminated. 

2.  The  co-operation  of  the  workers  will  be 
most  quickly  gained.  This  will  be  true 
not  only  of  the  workers  actually  studied, 
but  of  all  of  the  workers  in  the  organiza- 
tion. They  will  appreciate  the  attitude 
of  the  new  management,  and  will  be  glad 
to  help  if  they  can  see  the  actual  benefit 
from  the  start. 

3.  The  survey  maker  will  become  encouraged 
as  he  sees  his  data  successfully  used. 

4.  The  survey,  if  made  by  an  amateur,  will 
help  him  when  he  attacks  more  difficult 
problems. 

If  the  survey  maker  is  an  amateur,  he  had  best 
begin  where  working  conditions  most  demand 
betterment.  It  is  simpler  to  record  working  con- 
ditions than  to  describe  the  worker  or  the  method 
by  which  the  work  is  done.  A  really  adequate 
record  of  a  worker  requires  a  knowledge  of 
physiology  and  psychology.    An  adequate  record 


22  FATIGUE  STUDY 

of  method  requires  an  expert  knowledge  of  mo- 
tion study.  A  preliminary  record  of  fatigue  of 
all  sorts  may  be  made  by  an  amateur.  He  bad 
best,  however,  get  his  practice  in  recording  work- 
ing conditions.  Moreover,  it  will  be  best  to  ob- 
serve a  worker  who  is  known  to  be  co-operative 
at  the  start.  The  co-operation  of  the  worker  is 
the  most  important  element  in  getting  accurate 
records.  Such  workers  will  also  help  from  the 
start  to  suggest  or  invent  devices  for  eliminating 
fatigue,  if  they  are  started  thinking  along  these 
lines.  Later,  one  can  handle  the  non-co-opera- 
tive as  one  becomes  more  practised,  and  there  is 
always  the  likelihood  that,  by  the  time  one  gets 
to  these  at  first  non-co-operative  workers,  their 
attitude  will  have  been  changed  by  the  good  re- 
sults and  the  general  sympathy  towards  the  fa- 
tigue survey. 

The  Qualification  of  the  Survey  Maker. 

The  survey  maker  must  be  an  accurate  ob- 
server. He  must  be  able  to  see  what  the  condi- 
tions really  are,  and  to  describe  and  record  what 
he  sees  in  simple,  clear  language  that  will  enable 
others  to  understand  what  he  says.    The  survey 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  23 

may  be  made  by  any  one  of  several  types  of  sur- 
vey maker: 

1.  The  owner  of  the  plant.  He  will  have  the 
most  vital  interest  in  the  resulting  fa- 
tigue elimination.  No  matter  who  else 
makes  a  survey,  the  owner  should  ex- 
amine it  closely,  or  should  make  one  for 
himself.  We  have  found  that,  if  the 
owner  can  be  persuaded  to  take  one  day 
of  his  time  to  make  even  a  most  rapid  and 
superficial  fatigue  survey  of  his  plant,  the 
result  is  always  of  enormous  benefit  to 
the  work;  but,  while  his  interest  may  be 
enlisted  with  a  walk  through  his  plant, 
his  zeal  will  not  be  obtained  until  he  has 
actually  sat  in  the  various  seats  and 
chairs,  and  actually,  personally,  tried  out 
the  various  work  places. 

2.  The  survey  may  be  made  by  some  other 
member  of  the  organization,  who  is  an 
amateur  at  the  work.  The  benefits  of 
having  a  survey  maker  who  is  a  member 
of  the  organization  is  that  he  "  under- 
stands the  peculiar  and  local  conditions  '' 
thoroughly,  and  that  those  who  are  ob- 


24i  FATIGUE  STUDY 

served  may  therefore  have  more  con- 
fidence in  his  work  and  perhaps  may  be 
less  apt  to  resent  being  observed.  The 
disadvantages  are  that  he  will  be  so  well 
acquainted  with  and  accustomed  to  see- 
ing the  conditions  that  he  will  not  be  apt 
to  note  many  apparently  unimportant  de- 
tails. These  may  really  be  important, 
when  one  comes  to  make  changes. 

3.  The  survey  may  be  made  by  an  amateur 
not  a  member  of  the  organization.  The 
advantage  of  this  is  that  the  observer  will 
be  disinterested.  The  disadvantages  are 
the  usual  disadvantages  of  lack  of  train- 
ing. There  may,  also,  be  some  delay  in 
the  observed  worker's  co-operating  with 
the  observer.  This  is  not  apt  to  occur  if 
the  survey  maker  is  properly  instructed 
before  he  begins  his  work. 

4.  The  survey  may  be  made  by  an  expert. 
It  makes  little  difference,  in  this  case, 
whether  the  expert  is,  or  is  not,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  organization.  In  actual  prac- 
tice he  seldom  is  a  member  of  the  or- 
ganization. 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  85 

There  is  mucli  saving  in  time  in  having  an  ex- 
pert survey  maker,  who  will  be,  in  the  indus- 
tries, preferably  a  motion  study  expert.  From 
extensive  practice  he  will  be  able  to  see  possible 
improvements  at  the  same  time  that  he  sees  ex- 
isting conditions.  However,  he  must  not  let  his 
plans  for  improvement  affect  the  exactness  of  his 
records  of  the  present.  On  the  contrary,  these 
plans  will  insure  that  he  makes  his  records  of 
the  present  detailed  and  accurate,  in  order  that 
the  progress  may  be  apparent. 

Whatever  may  be  the  preparation  of  the  sur- 
vey maker,  his  chief  qualification  should  be  a 
keen  interest  and  enthusiasm  for  this  work.  If 
a  man  really  wants  to  eliminate  fatigue,  and  is 
willing  to  learn  how  to  do  it,  he  can  become  a 
survey  maker. 

What  to  Look  For. 

There  are  three  chief  groups  of  things  to  look 
for: 

1.  The  characteristics  of  the  worker,  or,  as 
we  have  called  them,  "variables  of  the 
worker." 

2.  The  characteristics  of  the  working  con- 


26  FATIGUE  STUDY 

ditions, — "  tke  variables  of  the  surround- 
ings, equipments,  and  tools." 
3.  The  characteristics  of  the  methods  of 
work ;  that  is,  "  the  variables  of  the  mo- 
tions.'' ^ 
First,  in  describing  the  worker,  there  are  sev- 
eral possible  methods  of  obtaining  valuable  in- 
formation.    One  is  by  observing  him.    A  second 
is  by  talking  with  him.     Before  using  either  of 
these,  it  is  necessary  to  see  what  records  of  him 
are  already  in  the  hands  of  the  management. 
There  will  probably  be  some  information  in  the 
employment  bureau,  if  an  employment  bureau  ex- 
ists; if  not,  the  man  who  hired  him  may  have 
some  data  concerning  him.     Usually  this  will 
save  the  worker's  time  in  answering  questions. 
It  is  well  to  know  as  much  as  possible  about  the 
worker's  life  history  and  home  conditions, —  this 
especially  that  one  may  understand  whether  he 
goes  to  work  refreshed  or  tired  in  the  morning. 
The  procedure  may  be  as  follows : 
1.  Record  the  man's  name,  age,  birthplace, 
preparation,     experience,     and     fitness. 
1  See  "  Motion  Study,"  pages  6  and  7. 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  27 

These  last  will  all  be  a  help  in  determin- 
ing the  percentage  of  fatigue. 

2.  Kecord  the  man's  physical  character- 
istics, as  far  as  can  be  observed ;  such  as, 
size,  strength,  skill,  strong  points,  and 
weak  points. 

3.  Record,  as  closely  as  possible,  the  man's 
behaviour,  as  indicating  his  mental  con- 
dition. To  be  specific,  note  whether  he 
seems  interested  in  the  work.  Note  his 
habits  of  doing  the  work, —  whether  he 
does  the  work  the  same  way  every  time, 
or  whether  he  varies  in  his  methods. 
Note  his  degree  of  ability  to  learn  quickly, 
Note  his  power  of  concentrating  atten- 
tion. Note  his  degree  of  contentment 
with  the  work. 

The  degree  of  detail  with  which  this  notation 
may  be  made  by  an  amateur  doing  the  work  de- 
pends largely  upon  his  training  in  psychology. 
Second,  in  recording  working  conditions : 
1.  Eecord  those  things  that  affect  all  work- 
ers in  the  group.     These  are  the  length  of 
working  day,  condition  of  lighting,  heat- 


28  FATIGUE  STUDY 

mg,  cooling,  and  yentilating;  fire  protec- 
tion; safety  protection  as  it  affects  all, — 
this  to  include  protection  from  dust,  lint, 
or  any  substance  which  might  affect 
health. 

2.  Eecord  the  conditions  that  affect  the  in- 
dividual worker:  —  places  of  the  work; 
the  work  bench  or  table  or  other  device 
for  holding  the  work ;  the  chair,  foot  rails 
or  rests,  or  other  device  for  affording  rest 
to  the  body  or  some  part  of  the  body ;  the 
material  worked  on  and  its  placing;  the 
tools  or  other  devices  by  which  the  work 
is  done ;  the  clothing  of  the  worker. 

3.  Record  the  results  of  the  work:  —  the 
average  amount  of  output;  the  hours  of 
the  working  day  when  most  fatigue  seems 
to  exist.  Record  which  conditions  ob- 
served are  the  result  of  work  having  been 
done  by  the  management,  and  which  are 
the  result  of  work  having  been  done  by 
the  individual  worker. 

If  a  general  appearance  of  fatigue  seems  to  oc- 
cur at  any  time,  make  special  notes  of  all  attend- 
ing conditions  of  every  kind.    Note  anything 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  29 

that  is  particularly  good  or  particularly  bad. 
Third,  little  can  be  done  at  this  stage  by  the 
amateur  survey  maker  in  recording  the  variables 
of  the  methods,  and  in  making  motion  analysis 
charts.  He  may,  however,  make  notes  of  meth- 
ods that  seem  to  him  unusual  or  efficient.  For 
example,  if  he  observes  two  workers  who  seem 
physically  much  the  same,  and  who  have  prac- 
tically indentical  surroundings,  and  finds  that 
one  of  these  accomplishes  more  than  the  other, 
or  is  less  fatigued,  the  difference  is  likely  to  lie 
in  the  motions  or  the  methods  used.  These 
should  be  carefully  noted.  Such  data  as  these 
will  prove  of  value  in  the  intensive  studies  of 
motions  to  be  undertaken  later. 

Variables  that  Affect  Fatigue. 

We  included  in  ''  Motion  Study,"  ^  a  list  of 
forty-two  variables  that  affect  motions.  The  list 
we  use  consists  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen. 
We  feel  that  our  list  is  by  no  means  complete. 
It  is  necessary  only  to  note  here  that  every  pos- 
sible change  in  the  work,  the  worker,  or  the 
method  has  its  effect  upon  the  fatigue.     This 

ID.  Van  Nostrand  Co.,  25  Park  Place,  New  York  City. 


so  FATIGUE  STUDY 

need  not  act  as  a  deterrent  from  making  changes. 
It  need  only  act  as  a  warning  that  no  change 
made  without  a  thorough  consideration  of  every 
element  of  the  problem  can  be  of  permanent 
value. 

The  Survey  Record  Sheet. 

The  survey  maker  will  do  well  to  list  all  of  the 
things,  which  he  intends  to  look  for,  upon  one 
sheet,  which  he  may  use  as  a  tentative  record 
sheet.  Such  a  sheet  will  prove  itself  an  admir- 
able record  of  how  far  advanced  the  organization 
is  in  fatigue  elimination.  The  survey  maker  in 
any  particular  plant  may  modify  it  to  suit  in- 
dividual conditions. 

The  making  of  such  a  record  sheet  is  most  stim- 
ulating to  the  survey  maker.  He  should  make  a 
collection  of  all  the  different  survey  sheets  ob- 
tainable, even  though  used  in  the  social  or  edu- 
cational fields.  He  should  be  required  to  make 
at  least  a  tentative  sheet  of  his  own.  Through 
his  attempts  to  do  this,  he  will  come,  as  in  al- 
most no  other  way,  to  a  realization  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  problem  that  is  before  him. 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  31 

Survey  Photographs. 

A  photograph  is  one  of  the  most  satisfactory 
survey  records.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  get  such 
a  photograph.  In  the  first  place  the  survey 
maker  is  not  sure  what  should  be  photographed. 
In  the  second  place  the  worker  is  not  always 
eager  that  he  or  his  work  place  should  be  photo- 
graphed. This  is  even  more  true  of  the  manage- 
ment than  of  the  men.  Some  managers  are  not 
willing  to  allow  their  work  places  to  be  photo- 
graphed, when  they  realize  that  such  photographs 
will  live  as  "  before  and  after  "  records.  Where 
photographs  can  be  taken,  they  are  the  ideal 
records,  in  that  they  are  accurate,  detailed,  un- 
prejudiced, easily  understood,  easily  preserved, 
and  constantly  available.  We  have  found  the 
photograph  the  most  valuable  of  records,  and 
have  used  it  continuously  since  1892.  On  every 
side  we  find  that  scientists  are  more  and  more 
realizing  the  importance  of  the  photograph 
record.  A  trained  photographer  often  has  the 
desirable  qualities  to  become  an  admirable  sur- 
vey maker.  The  motion  picture  film  makes  it 
possible  to  record  activity  as  well  as  rest. 


32  FATIGUE  STUDY 

Making  the  Survey  Serviceable. 

Such  photographs  form  an  important  element 
in  making  the  survey  serviceable.  The  survey  is 
an  admirable  record  to  use  after  improvements 
have  been  made,  to  show  exactly  what  the  trend 
of  progress  has  been.  It  is,  however,  most  im- 
portant, as  furnishing  the  working  data  from 
which  the  actual  improvements  are  made  imme- 
diately. To  be  serviceable,  then,  the  survey 
must  do  certain  things : 

1.  It  must  make  it  possible  for  any  one 
studying  it  actually  to  realize  existing 
conditions.  It  is  apparent  what  a  help 
the  photographs  are  in  thus  visualising 
the  problem. 

2.  It  must  emphasize  those  conditions  that 
require  immediate  and  great  improve- 
ment. These  can  be  shown  most  plainly 
by  photographs,  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  a  photograph  without  a  proper 
written  explanation  often  means  but  a 
small  portion  of  what  it  should  to  a  man 
who  has  not  himself  seen  the  conditions. 

3.  It  must  be  in  such  form  that  it  can  be 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  33 

easily  followed  or  studied.  This  will  be 
assured  if  the  plan  has  been  properly 
made,  and  if  the  plan  outlined  has  been 
consistently  followed. 

The  observations  should  be  grouped.  The 
groups  should  be  put  under  appropriate  headings. 
The  order  should  be  excellent.  It  will  help 
greatly  if  partial  and  final  summaries  are  in- 
cluded. 

The  amateur  will  do  best  to  put  all  of  his 
recommendations  for  changes  at  the  close  of  the 
survey.  Such  recommendations  should  certainly 
be  included.  The  survey  maker  should  note  the 
improvements  that  occur  to  him  while  making 
the  survey.  This  he  may  do  on  the  regular  sur- 
vey blank,  but  when  writing  up  the  survey,  he 
should  put  his  suggested  improvements  in  a  sepa- 
rate place,  for  the  following  reasons :  His  sug- 
gestions may  be  good,  but  may  be  only  a  few  of 
possible  suggestions.  Reading  them  with  the 
survey  may  prevent  the  reader  from  thinking  out 
suggestions  of  his  own.  Again,  the  suggestions, 
while  good,  may  be  obvious,  in  which  case  the 
reader  might  consider  the  entire  survey  a  record 
of  obvious  facts,  which,  therefore,  is  of  little 


34  FATIGUE  STUDY 

value;  in  wMch  case,  while  it  is  well  to  record 
them,  it  is  seldom  advisable  to  include  them  in 
the  body  of  the  survey.  The  reader  may  lose  in- 
terest because  of  the  suggestions,  and  may  fail 
to  realize  the  value  of  the  record  itself. 

Another  means  of  making  the  survey  service- 
able is  to  pay  strict  attention  to  the  style.  This 
should  be  the  extreme  of  simplicity  and  clearness. 
Use  short,  familiar,  and  necessary  words.  Use 
short  sentences  requiring  no  punctuation  except 
the  period.  In  fact,  wherever  possible,  use  a 
printed  form,  and  write  in  the  fewest  possible 
words  that  can  include  a  simple,  definite,  and 
complete  description.  Wherever  possible,  make 
the  survey  so  interesting  that  it  will  hold  the 
attention  without  effort.  This  has  been  done, 
and  can  always  be  done.  Photographs,  espe- 
cially stereoscopic  photographs,  are  of  great  as- 
sistance; so  are  charts,  or  graphs,  illustrating 
the  results  of  the  observation;  and  tables  that 
will  show  facts,  recapitulations,  and  tendencies, 
at  a  glance. 

The  data  of  the  survey  may  be  written  up  by 
the  survey  maker,  if  he  is  clever  at  such  work ;  if 
he  is  not,  it  had  better  be  written  up  by  some  one 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  S5 

to  whom  he  explains  it,  and  who  is  naturally  a 
clever  writer. 

The  survey  in  proper  form  can  be  used  as  a 
force  to  arouse  interest  in  fatigue  elimination 
throughout  the  entire  organization.  It  must  be 
put  in  the  most  attractive  form  possible.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  possibilities  in  making  dry  ma- 
terial interesting,  study  the  farmers'  bulletins 
used  by  the  national  government  and  various 
State  governments,  especially  the  bulletins  of 
Kansas  and  Wisconsin. 

It  is  a  courageous  organization  that  would  con- 
sent to  making  its  original  fatigue  survey  public 
However,  the  survey  should  certainly  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  member  of  the  organization  who 
desires  to  see  it.  It  will  be  recognized  that  the 
survey  is  the  starting  point  for  making  improve- 
ments in  the  elimination  of  unnecessary  fatigue. 
Too  little  is  often  done  to  take  the  workers  into 
the  confidence  of  the  management.  The  fatigue 
survey  might  well  act  as  a  starting  point  in  this 
direction;  therefore,  if  not  the  entire  survey,  it 
is  certain  the  examples  worthy  to  be  copied 
should  be  freely  circulated.  The  efficiently,  spe- 
cially-clothed  worker,  the  excellent  arrangement 


86  FATIGUE  STUDY 

of  tools,  the  best  arranged  work  place, —  photo- 
graphs and  descriptions  of  these  might  be  posted 
to  excellent  advantage. 

After  all,  the  real  aim  of  the  survey  is  to  be 
serviceable.  It  will  be  most  serviceable  when  it 
is  used  by  the  greatest  number  of  individuals,  and 
it  will  be  chiefly  serviceable  in  that  it  stimulates 
them  to  do  something  definite  to  improve  condi- 
tions. It  must  suggest  what  is  to  be  done,  and 
where  it  is  to  be  done.  As  to  when  the  improve- 
ments are  to  be  made,  there  are  certain  things 
that  can  be  done  immediately, —  as  soon  as  ex- 
isting conditions  are  understood.  Our  next  task 
is  to  show  what  these  are,  in  order  that  the  stimu- 
lated organization  may  expend  its  energy  for  the 
greatest  amount  of  permanent  good  to  the  great- 
est number. 

Summary. 

The  fatigue  survey  is  a  record  of  present  con- 
ditions and  practice,  that  endeavours  to  show 
particularly  and  in  detail  where  and  when  fa- 
tigue exists.  This  record  contains  a  description 
of  all  the  attending  circumstances.  It  is  to  be 
in  such  form  that  it  may  be  easily  read  and  un- 


FATIGUE  SURVEY  87 

derstood.  By  studying  it,  any  one  interested 
may  learn  where  fatigue  exists,  and  may  receive 
suggestions  as  to  how  it  may  be  prevented,  elimi- 
nated, or  remedied. 


CHAPTEE  III 

PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST  FOR  OVER- 
COMING FATIGUE 

Provision  for  Rest. 

The  first  necessity  in  our  fight  against  fatigue 
is  to  eliminate  the  causes  of  unnecessary  fatigue. 
The  second  is  to  provide  for  proper  rest  to  over- 
come fatigue,  whether  necessary  or  unnecessary. 

If  the  worker  goes  home  too  tired  each  night, 
the  first  method  of  remedying  this  condition  is  to 
provide  rest  periods  during  the  working  day  —  to 
set  aside  time  in  which  he  may  recover  his  proper 
and  normal  working  strength.  One  method  by 
which  this  may  be  sometimes  done  is  by  short- 
ening the  working  day.  This  permits  the  worker 
to  get  into  better  condition  either  before  work, 
after  work,  during  a  lengthened  noon  hour,  or 
during  the  "  second  breakfast "  and  "  tea  re- 
cess" of  many  European  organizations.  The 
supposed  advantage  of  this  plan  is  that  it  gives 

38 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST       S9 

little  or  no  jolt  to  the  working  process.  To  this 
we  might  answer,  as  circumstances  vary,  that  it 
does  give  a  jolt,  because  speed  must  be  increased 
in  order  that  output  should  be  maintained;  or 
we  might  say  that  the  jolt  is  really  needed.  The 
disadvantage,  in  some  cases,  of  shortening  the 
working  hours  is  the  effect  upon  the  entire  in- 
dustry in  the  vicinity.  This  is  a  feature  to  be 
considered,  for  in  the  long  run  maximum  pros- 
perity is  dependent  upon  largest  outputs. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  most  cases  it  is 
advisable  and  profitable  to  shorten  working 
hours,  but  how  and  when  this  is  to  be  done  is  a 
serious  problem.  In  our  own  office,  our  stenog- 
raphers work  every  other  Saturday  till  1 :00  p.m. 
only,  and  the  alternating  Saturday  they  do  not 
work  at  all ;  that  is  to  say,  we  give  them  a  holi- 
day of  Saturday  afternoon  and  Sunday  every 
other  week,  and  all  Saturday  and  Sunday  the 
other  weeks,  besides  their  regular  two-weeks  va- 
cation in  summer.  We  find  that  we  get  more  and 
better  work  as  a  result.  No  plant,  operating  un- 
der the  measured  type  of  management,  that  we 
know  of,  has  ever  regretted  shortening  its  work- 
ing hours.     It  may  be  that  the  working  hours 


40  FATIGUE  STUDY 

formerly  existing  were  so  long  that  shortening 
the  hours  was  the  only  immediate  adequate 
remedy.  The  danger  in  shortening  hours  is  that, 
if  the  whole  problem  is  not  thoroughly  studied, 
the  worker  may  not  be  sure  of  the  same  or  a 
larger  wage  for  work  which  he  is  able  to  do  in 
the  shorter  time.  Fatigue  elimination  is  funda- 
mentally the  duty  of  the  management.  The 
worker  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  the  fatigue  elimi- 
nation, directly  or  indirectly.  Let  the  short 
hours  be  planned  for  and  assured,  but  make  sure 
before  introducing  them  that  everything  is  in 
such  condition  that  wages  can  be  maintained  or 
raised.  This  is  a  matter  requiring  study  of  ac- 
tual records  and  not  "  guess,"  "  personal  opin- 
ion," or  "  judgment." 

There  are  other  methods  of  providing  for  fa- 
tigue elimination  or  recovery,  that  do  not  involve 
so  many  elements.  Such  a  method  is  providing 
rest  periods  during  the  working  day.  This  is  a 
method  that  may  be  used  immediately.  To 
whom  are  these  rest  periods  to  be  given,  then? 
Ultimately,  of  course,  to  every  member  of  the 
organization  whose  work  is  of  a  nature  that  re- 
quires a  fixed  rest  period.     The  work  should, 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST      4l 

preferably,  be  so  arranged  that  every  worker,  be 
he  in  plant  or  in  management,  would  achieve 
larger  outputs  by  having  definite  and  properly 
located  rest  periods.  It  has  been  proved  in  most 
work  that  more  output  can  be  achieved  by  ap- 
plying one's  self  steadily  for  short  periods,  and 
then  resting,  than  by  applying  one's  self  less 
steadily  and  having  no  rest  periods.  This,  of 
course,  applies  only  to  work  which  in  itself  pro- 
vides no  rest  periods.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
fatigue  eliminating  campaign,  provide  rest  peri- 
ods for  those  who  seem  to  need  them  most. 
There  are  two,  off-hand,  quick  methods  of  de- 
termining which  w^orkers  these  are.  One  is  the 
appearance  of  the  workers  at  various  times  of 
the  day,  and  at  the  end  of  the  day.  The  other  is 
the  amount  of  output  and  the  rate  that  output  is 
turned  out  by  the  worker  during  the  day  and 
during  the  various  parts  of  the  day.  In  some 
organizations,  it  has  been  the  standard  practice 
to  take  no  chances  when  the  worker  looks  or  feels 
tired.  They  provide  rest  periods  immediately, 
long  enough  to  allow  him  to  recover  and  go  back 
to  the  w^ork  with  zest.  This  is,  of  course,  the  im- 
mediate remedy.     "  Provide  the  rest  period  first. 


42  FATIGUE  STUDY 

Discuss  its  efficiency  later."  This  first-aid  plan 
has  worked  splendidly  for  a  long  time  among 
women  workers  in  such  industries  as  the  dry- 
goods  trades.  The  typical  welfare  work  may  be 
unscientific  from  the  standpoint  of  those  fa- 
miliar with  highly  organized  methods,  but  it  has 
sensed  the  trouble  keenly  and  quickly,  and  pro- 
vided at  least  a  temporary  remedy  without  de- 
lay. "  Time  to  rest  when  one  needs  it."  This  is 
the  first  slogan  of  the  campaign  for  eliminating 
the  evils  of  overfatigue. 

Chairs  to  Make  the  Rest  Most  Effective. 

The  merchants  have  again  been  the  pioneers 
here,  in  realizing  that  reclining  chairs  or  couches 
furnish  the  most  effective  rest.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary here  to  discuss  the  physiological  effects  re- 
sulting from  a  change  of  blood  pressure.  It 
should  be  noted  that  even  a  few  minutes  in  a  re- 
clining position  provides  such  rest  as  could  not 
be  gained  in  a  much  longer  time  if  seated  upright 
in  the  most  comfortable  of  chairs.  If  attending 
conditions  allow  of  reclining  chairs  or  couches, 
for  at  least  the  exceptional  and  emergency  cases, 
these  should  immediately  be  provided.     It  surely 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST      43 

does  take  real  courage  for  the  management  of  an 
organization  of  strong  and  strenuous  men  to  in- 
stall reclining  chairs,  couches,  and  high  foot-rests 
for  rest  periods ;  but  fame  awaits  the  one  in  this 
field,  who  can  make  the  practice  general.  The 
brain  worker  of  all  types  has  long  realized  the 
benefits  of  the  occasional  use  of  the  reclining 
chair.  Flat  couches  without  even  the  smallest 
of  pillows  are  a  part  of  the  regular  working 
equipment  of  some  of  our  greatest  brain  workers. 
It  is  considered  no  disgrace,  nor  is  it  worthy  of 
note,  if  a  tired  soldier  flings  himself  flat  upon 
the  ground  to  rest.  It  attracts  no  attention  for 
an  exhausted  worker  to  go  to  sleep  on  a  hard 
wooden  bench  at  noontime.  But  to  put  a  couch 
in  some  quiet  spot,  or  even  a  chair  with  extra- 
high,  large,  flat,  arm  rests,  where  the  same  type  of 
rest  might  be  enjoyed  most  effectively,  this  seems 
radical,  and  "  might  make  the  men  think  we  had 
gone  crazy.''  It  might  be  objected  that  the 
worker  should  not  allow  himself  to  become  so 
fatigued  that  this  type  of  rest  is  necessary.  The 
answer  is, —  if  rest  in  this  position  will  over- 
come what  is  almost  complete  exhaustion,  what 
increases  in  national  efficiency  and  prosperity 


44  FATIGUE  STUDY 

may  it  not  cause  in  overcoming  quickly  less  vio- 
lent stages  of  fatigue? 

Next  to  the  couch  or  reclining  chair,  in  effi- 
ciency, is  the  arm-chair.  There  are  "  arm- 
chairs/' and  chairs  with  real  arms  specially  fitted 
to  the  individual  worker.  These  will  be  even 
more  efficient  if  provided  with  a  foot-rest.  We 
have  actually  installed  such  arm-chairs  out  in 
the  works  with  very  good  results.  We  have  had 
many  a  case  where  even  the  workers  laughed 
loudly  when  the  special,  unusual  chairs  were 
brought  in.  They  began  to  use  them  more  out  of 
friendliness  towards  us  than  out  of  any  belief  in 
the  special  usefulness  of  these  peculiar  chairs. 
However,  at  the  end  of  a  few  days  of  actual  use, 
they  were  able  to  handle  their  work  in  greater 
quantities  and  with  less  fatigue.  "  It's  a  joke 
to  work  like  that,"  one  said.  Some  of  the  work- 
ers claimed  that  they  did  not  need  such  a  chair, 
but,  after  it  became  the  fashion  to  use  it,  each 
one  seemed  glad  enough  for  the  better  rest  pro- 
vided. 

From  this  type  of  chair  down  to  the  smallest 
possible  seat,  the  gradation  is  gradual  and  con- 
stant.    In  certain  types  of  work,  like  selling  in 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST       45 

a  drrgoods  store,  the  space  is  sometimes  so  nar- 
row that  the  only  type  of  chair  practicable,  un- 
der present  conditions,  is  the  small  folding  seat 
that  can  slip  under  the  shelves  or  fold  up  against 
them  when  the  girl  is  serving  a  customer.  Such 
also  is  the  type  of  chair  that  folds  up  under  or 
next  to  a  machine,  which  the  operator  is  tend- 
ing, and  which  can  be  pulled  out  during  the  peri- 
ods when  the  machines  need  no  tending,  and  the 
operator  is  simply  inspecting  or  waiting  for  the 
next  tending  period.  Every  one  realizes  the  ad- 
vantage, as  a  resting  device,  of  anything  upon 
which  one  can  occasionally  sit.  The  two-inch, 
iron  arm  of  a  seat  on  a  railroad  train,  the  tiny 
seat  that  folds  into  a  walking  stick  or  umbrella, 
that  the  enthusiast  at  the  races  takes  with  him, — 
these  are  typical  examples  of  seats  that  seem  al- 
most ridiculous,  yet  that  have  an  enormous  effect 
upon  the  amount  of  fatigue  accumulated  in  a  few 
hours,  or  in  a  day.  "  A  chair  to  rest  in ;  "  this 
is  the  second  slogan.  If  a  chair  is  not  procurable, 
then  some  sort  of  a  seat,  even  a  packing  box  with 
no  back,  even  a  post  to  lean  against,  or  a  rail  to 
lean  upon, —  anything  to  shift  the  pressure 
is  better  than  nothing.    Far  better  a  seat  with  no 


46  FATIGUE  STUDY 

back,  immediately,  than  the  best  type  of  chair  in 
the  indefinite  future.  Get  some  sort  of  seat  for 
the  worker  to-day,  and  begin  planning  for  the 
efficient  chair  at  the  first  day  possible. 

The  final  word  on  chairs  in  this  preliminary 
work  is  that  some  sort  of  a  chair  should  be  pro- 
vided for  every  member  of  the  organization. 
There  is  a  wide-spread  belief  that  one  chair  for 
every  two  or  three  or  more  workers  is  sufficient ; 
that  "  they  can  change  off  using  it."  The  argu- 
ment was  something  like  this :  "  No  one  needs 
to  sit  more  than  one-third  of  the  time,  therefore 
one  chair  to  each  three  workers  is  enough,"  etc. 
The  chief  fallacy  is  the  implied  idea  that  the 
rest  periods  of  the  workers  can  be  so  arranged 
that  the  chairs  can  be  in  constant  use,  and  that 
each  worker  will  have  a  chair  at  his  or  her  dis- 
posal at  the  proper  time.  Now  in  theory,  of 
course,  this  is  not  an  impossible  arrangement. 
It  might  have  to  be  made  if  chairs  and  seats 
cost  many  dollars  apiece,  and  it  probably  would 
be  done  then,  if  there  was  a  proper  realization 
of  the  importance  of  overcoming  fatigue.  But 
when  chairs  are  as  cheap  and  plentiful  as  they 
are  now,  there  is  no  excuse  for  thinking  of  such 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST      47 

a  condition.  In  practice,  where  there  are  not 
enough  chairs  for  every  one,  at  certain  times  of 
the  day  the  chairs  are  empty,  as  every  one  is 
busy.  At  other  times,  when  work  is  duller,  the 
chairs  are  all  used,  and  many  workers  are  try- 
ing to  rest  as  best  they  can,  standing.  These 
conditions  can  be  noted  in  any  drygoods  store, 
in  any  shop  or  factory  where  there  is  an  inade- 
quate supply  of  chairs.  "  A  seat  for  each  and 
every  worker  whether  he  needs  it  or  not;''  this 
is  the  third  slogan. 

Betterment  Work. 

The  third  division  of  provision  for  rest  falls 
under  the  general  heading  of  betterment  work, 
or  what  is  popularly  called  "  welfare  work." 
The  term  "  betterment  work  "  is  used  by  those 
who  are  interested  in  measured  management  in- 
stead of  "  welfare  work,"  to  emphasize  a  dis- 
tinction in  thought.  Some  welfare  work  implies 
that  it  is  the  gift  of  the  manager  to  the  workers. 
Betterment  work  is  the  same  type  of  work,  done 
with  the  distinct  understanding  that  what  is 
done  is  for  the  good  and  profit  of  the  organiza- 
tion.    It  is  the  due  of  every  member  of  the  or- 


48  FATIGUE  STUDY 

ganization  to  have  the  best  resting  condition  pos- 
sible. Making  these  conditions  better  is  better- 
ment work.  There  is  no  intention  to  criticize 
welfare  work.  Most  welfare  work  is  betterment 
work.  Some  workers,  however,  object  to  wel- 
fare work  as  implying  "  charity."  Therefore, 
we  say  betterment  work.  It  is  the  worker's  due 
that  he  gets.  Such  work  comprises  establishing 
rest  rooms,  lunch  rooms,  entertainments  —  any- 
thing that  can  make  the  resting  time  more  attrac- 
tive and  profitable.  It  may  also  imply  the  serv- 
ice of  a  betterment  worker  or  a  staff  of  such 
workers ;  or  it  may  be  that  the  organization  itself 
takes  up  the  work  co-operatively,  with  no  out- 
sider to  direct  it.  Doubtless  some  such  activity 
already  exists.  If  so,  it  would  be  the  duty  of 
the  fatigue  eliminators  to  recognize  it  and  en- 
courage it. 

The  fourth  provision  for  rest  is  really  a  part 
of  betterment  work.  It  must  be  described  at 
some  length.  This  is  the  Home  Beading  Box 
Movement,  which  furnishes  a  definite  means  for 
making  rest  periods,  both  at  work  and  at  home, 
attractive  and  profitable.  Before  turning  to  a 
description  of  this,  we  may  estimate  the  effect 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST      49 

upon  the  worker  of  tlie  preliminary  work  so  far 
done. 

Results. 

The  results  of  the  preliminary  work  we  have 
done  are  as  follows  : 

1.  The  interest  in  fatigue  becomes  more 
vital.  We  have  aroused  more  interest  in 
fatigue  elimination,  and  have  made  it 
general.  With  the  establishment  of 
properly  distributed  rest  periods,  chairs, 
seats,  etc.,  the  recovery  process  becomes 
interesting.  As  he  knows  how  resting 
improves  his  working  conditions,  the 
worker  becomes  more  warmly  interested 
in  the  fatigue  itself.  It  is  a  very  differ- 
ent thing  to  talk  about  the  evils  of  fa- 
tigue, or  even  to  see  the  advantages  of 
proper  rest  exhibited  in  object  lessons, 
than  it  is  to  get  proper  rest  in  a  specially 
designed  chair  for  the  first  time  in  one's 
working  life.  Fatigue,  which  was  an 
enemy,  becomes  now  not  only  my  enemy, 
but  our  enemy- — mine,  because  I  recog- 
jiize  it  has  affected  me ;  ours,  because  we 


50  FATIGUE  STUDY 

are  fighting  it  together  for  our  best  in- 
terests, severally  and  collectively. 
2.  The  interest  in  fatigue  becomes  more 
intelligent.  Many  workers,  especially 
women,  feel  that  it  is  to  be  expected  that 
they  will  get  exceedingly  tired  by  night; 
that  one  cannot  expect  to  do  so  much 
late  in  the  day  as  early  in  the  day;  that 
stopping  to  rest  is  cutting  down  one's 
output,  thus  cheating  one's  self,  if  one  is 
a  piece  rate  worker,  or  cheating  the  man- 
agement, if  one  is  a  day  rate  worker. 
The  worker  now  comes  to  realize  that 
he  hurts  the  management  and  himself, 
when  he  gets  too  tired.  "  It  is  your  duty 
to  rest  when  you  need  it ; "  that  is  the 
fourth  slogan.  It  must  be  remembered 
also  that  the  rest  periods  provide  time 
for  clearer  and  more  intelligent  thinking. 
It  is  impossible  to  come  to  any  valid  con- 
clusion when  one  is  working  at  top  speed 
part  of  the  day,  and  in  a  state  of  exhaus- 
tion the  rest  of  the  time.  We  have  now 
an  opportunity  to  think,  and  brains 
rested  enough  with  which  to  think. 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST      51 

3.  The  output  increases.  Usually,  in  prac- 
tice, the  output  increases  as  a  result  of 
the  fatigue-recovery  periods.  Increased 
outputs  encourage  both  management  and 
worker.  They  must,  however,  be  in- 
spected and  controlled.  Some  one  with 
the  proper  training  must  be  in  charge, 
that  excessive  fatigue  may  not  be  ac- 
cumulated, and  the  rest  periods  lose  their 
purpose.  With  the  increase  in  output 
must  come  added  compensation  in  wage». 
If  this  is  provided,  the  fatigue  eliminat- 
ing campaign  will  not  be  regarded  as  a 
new  scheme  for  driving  the  worker. 
Better  for  the  good  of  the  management 
and  the  men  to  limit  the  output  to  its 
usual  amount  during  this  period,  until 
the  workers  see  that  too  much  fatigue  to- 
day interferes  with  the  standard  quan- 
tity of  output  to-morrow,  than  to  attempt 
to  allow  increased  output  without  in- 
creased pay.  The  world  can  better  af- 
ford to  lose  the  extra  product,  than  the 
management  to  appear  even  for  a  moment 
to  be  trying  to  overwork  the  men. 


52  FATIGUE  STUDY 

4.  The  spirit  of  co-operation  grows.  The 
worker  realizes  instinctively,  if  the  sur- 
vey has  been  properly  made,  and  if  this 
preliminary  work  has  been  properly 
done,  that  the  aim  of  fatigue  study  is  the 
good  of  all  concerned.  There  is  a  psy- 
chological element  to  this.  It  might  be 
possible  to  question  the  motive  of  in- 
stalling fatigue  eliminating  devices. 
There  is  no  question  as  to  the  motive  in  in- 
stalling the  resting  devices  and  rest  peri- 
ods. The  rest  periods  allow  time  for  de- 
velopment of  the  social  spirit.  "To 
know  all  is  to  understand  all,''  a  wise 
Frenchman  has  said.  "  I  like  every  one 
whom  I  know,"  is  the  thought  of  another 
wise  man.  "  Let's  go  at  the  fatigue  sur- 
vey all  together,"  is  the  fifth  slogan. 
The  Home  Beading  Box  Movement  is, 
perhaps,  the  channel  where  this  spirit  of 
co-operation  expresses  itself  most  freely. 

Summary. 

Preliminary  provision  for  rest  for  overcoming 
fatigue  consists  of  establishing  rest  periods,  pro- 


PRELIMINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR  REST      53 

viding  chairs  or  other  devices  in  which  one  may 
rest,  and  establishing  or  encouraging  betterment 
work.  These  result  in  a  more  vital  and  intelli- 
gent interest  in  fatigue,  and  a  spirit  of  co-opera- 
tion. This  work  is  embodied  in  five  slogans. 
These  are  as  follows :  "  Time  to  rest  when  one 
needs  it;"  "A  seat  to  rest  in;"  "A  seat  for 
each  and  every  worker  whether  he  needs  it  or 
not ;  "  "  It  is  your  duty  to  rest  when  you  need  it," 
and  "  Let's  go  at  the  fatigue  survey  all  together." 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  HOME  READING  BOX   MOVEMENT 

What  It  Is. 

The  Home  Reading  Box  Movement  is  a  sys- 
tem of  placing  interesting,  educational,  and  val- 
uable reading  matter  at  the  disposal  of  the  work- 
ers in  an  industrial  organization.     It  consists  of 

1.  A  box  in  the  plant  in  which  the  reading 
matter  can  be  placed  and  kept  until  taken 
out  by  the  workers. 

2.  Boxes  in  the  homes  of  members  of  the 
organization  or  of  the  community  inter- 
ested, where  reading  matter  intended  for 
the  plant  can  be  kept  until  it  is  collected. 

3.  A  system  by  which  the  reading  matter 
gathered  in  the  homes  is  taken  to  the 
plant  reading  box,  is  taken  from  the  plant 
box  to  the  homes  of  the  workers,  and,  in 
turn,  either  returned  to  the  plant  or 
passed  on  to  other  homes  which  would 
have  pleasure  or  profit  from  it. 

54 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT         55 

The  Box  in  the  Plant. 

The  box  in  the  plant  is  located  at  a  place  most 
convenient  for  the  workers.  Its  size  depends 
upon  the  size  of  the  collections.  It  should  be 
large  enough  to  hold  two  collections  of  papers, 
magazines,  and  books.  It  should  be  located 
where  the  workers  can  get  to  it  without  loss  of 
time  and  with  fewest  motions.  The  best  place  is 
usually  near  the  path  of  exit  after  the  day's  work. 
It  will  simplify  the  routing  of  the  reading  matter, 
if  the  box  is  put  under  a  window  next  to  the 
street,  so  that  magazines  can  be  put  in  by  any 
one  driving  or  walking  by,  without  coming  in 
and  thereby  possibly  disturbing  the  operation  of 
the  plant.  The  box  is  made  a  regular  part  of 
the  plant  equipment  by  receiving  a  station  num- 
ber like  every  other  "  station ''  on  the  mes- 
senger's route.  The  first  box  installed  happened 
to  be  No.  34.  All  boxes  since  have  received  this 
number,  and  the  same  number  becomes  the  home 
reading  box  symbol,  thus, — "34." 

The  Plant  as  a  Source  of  Supply. 

It  is  invariably  a  surprise  to  the  management, 
as  well  as  the  workers,  to  find  how  much  reading 


5Q  FATIGUE  STUDY 

matter  for  the  home  reading  box  is  available  in 
the  plant  itself. 

Every  business  man  receives  quantities  of 
catalogs  and  other  business  and  technical  litera- 
ture, and  sample  copies  of  publications,  sent  in 
the  effort  to  get  new  subscribers.  These  are 
glanced  at  by  the  man  receiving  them,  and  then 
and  there  usually  thrown  into  the  waste-basket. 
A  catalog  is  the  best  literary  effort  of  the  con- 
cern it  represents,  and  usually  contains  valuable 
instruction.  Now  if  the  mail  sorter  or  the  pur- 
chasing department  see  no  immediate  need  of 
the  things  in  the  catalog,  it  usually  finds  its 
way  quickly  to  the  waste-basket.  That  such 
catalogs  have  a  decided  interest  to  the  users  of 
the  home  reading  box  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
new  catalogs  are  always  taken  away  to  the 
homes.  The  average  manager  has  not  the  time 
to  give  each  catalog  the  attention  that  it  really 
deserves,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  there  will 
be  one  or  more  men  out  in  the  plant  who  have 
both  the  time  and  interest  to  devote  to  the  cata- 
log. These  usually  discarded  catalogs  are 
sometimes  read  to  see  if  they  will  not  contain  a 
thought  for  the  "  suggestion  "  box ;  the  by -prod- 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        57 

uct  being  that  the  plant  is  kept  up  to  date,  so 
far  as  information  contained  in  new  catalogs 
is  concerned.  In  the  same  way  sample  maga- 
zines or  papers  may  come  in,  which  make  no  par- 
ticular appeal  to  the  man  to  whom  they  are  sent, 
or  a  magazine  brings  a  marked  article  which  is 
cut  out  and  put  on  file, —  the  rest  of  the  maga- 
zine being  thrown  into  the  waste-basket. 

All  of  this  usually  discarded  material  can  be, 
with  profit,  sent  to  the  home  reading  box.  The 
man  in  the  office,  who  looks  at  and  discards  it, 
simply  stamps  or  writes  on  it  "  34,"  the  symbol 
of  the  home  reading  box,  or  the  number  of  its 
station  in  the  inter-office  postal  system,  and 
puts  it  in  his  "  out  '^  basket.  On  his  next  trip 
for  distributing  papers,  the  messenger  takes  the 
reading  matter  marked  "  34  '^  from  the  "  out " 
baskets,  and  deposits  it  in  "  34,"  the  home  read- 
ing box. 

Another  source  of  supply  consists  of  the  news- 
papers, magazines,  or  books  bought  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  organiaztion  as  they  come  to  work. 
The  average  man  in  the  managefment  depart- 
ments buys  a  paper  or  magazine  as  he  comes  to 
work.     His  daily  paper  is  surely  discarded,  his 


58  FATIGUE  STUDY 

magazine  is  often  discarded,  sometimes  even  a 
book  is  thrown  aside  as  completed.  These  also 
go  through  the  "  out "  basket  to  the  home  read- 
ing box.  A  cent  or  two  a  day  for  a  morning  pa- 
per is  little  or  nothing  to  some  members  of  the 
organization.  A  cent  or  two  a  day  is  a  very 
important  element  in  some  working  men's  bud- 
gets. Besides  there  is  an  enormous  waste,  if 
daily  papers  are  thrown  away  after  having  been 
read  by  but  one  person. 

The  Home  Element. 

A  home  reading  box  which  has  no  other  source 
of  supply  than  that  mentioned  is  not  to  be  de- 
spised, but  many  advantages  of  the  movement 
are  lost,  of  course,  if  it  is  so  restricted.  It  is  de- 
sirable and  customary,  therefore,  to  interest  as 
large  a  number  of  homes  as  possible  in  the  move- 
ment. There  are,  first,  the  homes  from  which 
reading  matter  comes.  The  first  problem  is  to 
arouse  interest  in  such  homes.  The  conversa- 
tion goes  something  like  this : 

"  Haven't  you  some  reading  matter  that  you 
wish  to  get  rid  of,  that  we  could  have  for  the 
Home  Reading  Box  Movement?" 


Fig.  2 
This  shows  a  typical  collection  of  magazines  ready  to 
go  to  the  Home  Reading  Box  at  the  plant. 


Fig.  3 
This  shows  the  passing  of  magazines  from  the  ^  wagon 
into  the  plant.  The  plant  box  is  placed  directly  below  the 
window,  where,  if  no  one  is  inside  waiting  to  take  the 
magazines,  they  may  easily  be  dropped  from  the  outside  of 
the  plant  without  disturbing  any  one  in  the  plant 


CO 
d 

M 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        59 

"  Just  what  do  jou  want?  " 

*^Well,  anything  that  is  interesting,  but  es- 
pecially magazines  of  recent  date,  with  which 
you  have  finished." 

"  Oh,  but  we  get  hardly  any  magazines.  Let 
me  see.  We  do  take  the  Saturday  Evening  Post, 
and  my  wife  reads  the  Home  Journal  and  the 
Woman's  Home  Companion,  and  I  buy  some  of 
the  weeklies  and  some  of  the  monthlies." 

"And  you  get  trade  catalogs  and  trade  pa- 
pers of  various  kinds  besides?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  get  some  of  those  that  pertain  to 
our  business." 

"Well,  what  do  you  do  with  them  all,  when 
you  have  finished  reading  them?  " 

"Why,  we  throw  the  advertising  matter  into 
the  waste-basket,  and  the  trade  papers  we  keep 
with  the  idea  of  binding  some  day,  but  we  never 
have  bound  them.  I  don't  know  exactly  what 
does  become  of  them.  I  don't  think  we  ever 
really  look  at  the  old  ones." 

It  is  this  reading  matter  that  we  desire  to 
send  promptly  into  some  home  reading  box.  As 
to  the  other  homes  to  which  the  reading  matter 
ultimately  goes,  these  may  be,  or  may  become, 


60  FATIGUE  STUDY 

or  may  help  otliers  to  become,  the  same  type  of 
home.  At  present  little  reading  matter,  can  en- 
ter, because  the  wage  earner  cannot  spare  enough 
from  his  wages  to  buy  much  literature,  and  is  too 
tired  to  go  to  the  library  in  the  evening. 
There  is  often  the  same  desire  for  reading  in 
this  home,  though  it  has  not  had  such  a  chance 
to  become  trained.  The  whole  family  has  the 
same  desire  to  see  the  pictures,  and  the  children 
the  same  joy  in  colouring  the  drawings  or  cutting 
them  out.  The  neighbours  will  like  to  borrow 
anything  that  is  interesting,  and  the  reader  will 
increase  his  stock  of  information  and  his  vocabu- 
lary, and  form  the  habit  of  reading  besides. 
There  are  exactly  the  same  possibilities  of  de- 
veloping habits  and  tastes.  All  that  is  lacking 
is  the  opportunity. 

The  one  hope  for  the  working  man  is  through 
education,  and  the  greatest  educational  possibili- 
ties now,  with  very  few  exceptions,  go  into  the 
waste-baskets  of  the  nation.  For  example,  con- 
sider the  pile  of  Saturday  Evening  Posts  that 
come  out  each  week.  These  would  make  a  pile 
more  than  three  miles  high  each  week.    Think 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        61 

of  the  many  other  magazines  and  their  effect 
upon  homes  that  cannot  afford  to  buy  them.^ 

Routing  the  Magazines. 

The  whole  problem  is  to  get  the  magazines 
from  the  home  to  the  plant  promptly  and  in  the 
easiest  way  possible.  When  the  first  home  read- 
ing box  was  established,  we  carried  the  maga- 
zines in  our  arms  from  our  homes  to  the  plant, 
where  the  magazines  found  their  way  to  the  home 
reading  box  by  means  of  the  inter-office  mes- 
senger system.  As  other  people  became  inter- 
ested, there  were  more  magazines  than  could  be 
conveniently  carried,  so  we  sent  an  automobile 
around,  now  and  then,  for  collecting  the  maga- 
zines and  taking  them  to  the  plant.  Gradually 
other  people  were  asked  to  co-operate,  and  regu- 
lar collections  were  made  monthly  by  some  mem- 
ber of  the  organization,  who  had  time  and  an 
automobile  at  his  disposal.  If  the  auto  was 
busy  or  the  weather  bad,  an  express  wagon  or  a 
truck  went  the  rounds.  The  aim,  however,  was, 
and  is,  always  to  have  the  collecting  a  part  of 

1  The  publishers  are  aU  in  favor  of  the  Home  Reading  Box 
Movement,  as  it  creates  readers. 


62  FATIGUE  STUDY 

the  co-operation  plan.  It  became  a  common 
sight  in  the  town  where  the  movement  started  to 
have  a  college  professor  take  a  Saturday  after- 
noon off,  and  collect  the  magazines  in  his  electric 
coupe,  or  to  have  one  of  the  boys  and  his  chums 
go  out  in  a  touring  car,  and  fill  the  box  at  the 
plant,  so  that  the  men  would  find  a  fresh  supply 
Monday  morning.  In  some  plants,  where  none 
of  the  homes  in  the  vicinity  has  reading  matter, 
it  is  boxed  and  sent  by  express  from  friends  of 
the  movement  at  a  distance.  Some  bundles  have 
come  from  as  far  as  Bryn  Mawr  for  the  Home 
Beading  Boxes  in  Providence. 

It  is  a  great  sight  to  see  the  big  bundles  come 
in,  and  to  watch  the  workers,  as  they  are  opened. 
Every  one  is  allowed  to  take  what  he  pleases  and 
as  many  as  he  pleases.  There  have  been  no  re- 
strictions whatever,  because  the  unhampered 
privileges  have  not  been  abused.  He  may  bring 
any  back,  if  he  chooses,  or  he  may  keep  all  he 
takes,  or  he  may  pass  them  on  to  his  less  for- 
tunate friends  or  neighbours  who  are  not  em- 
ployed in  a  plant  having  a  home  reading  box. 
He  is  rather  urged  to  pass  them  on  when  he  has 
finished  with  them,  as  we  wish  to  maintain  the 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        63 

reading  club,  or  circulating  library,  idea.  We 
consider  the  reading  matter  as  loaned,  and  to  be 
passed  on  in  an  endless  cbain.  If  the  worker 
chooses  to  consider  what  he  gets  as  a  gift,  that 
is  his  privilege.  He  may  break  the  chain  with- 
out reproach;  in  fact,  breaking  the  chain  has 
been  the  cause  of  starting  real  libraries  on  a 
small  scale  in  many  houses. 

The  Problem  of  Maintenance. 

There  are  various  important  features  to  the 
maintenance  problem.  In  order  that  the  sup- 
ply may  remain  sufficient,  as  large  a  number  as 
possible  of  co-operators  must  be  secured,  and 
they  must,  naturally,  be  required  to  do  the  least 
amount  of  work  possible. 

In  Providence,  where  the  work  started,  the 
work  was,  during  this  first  or  starting  period, 
placed  in  charge  of  a  young  man  who  devoted 
considerable  time  to  putting  it  on  a  systematic 
basis.  He  divided  the  city  into  four  districts, 
each  district  representing  a  telephone  exchange 
district.  Eoutes  for  collection  were  made  out, 
and  volunteer  collectors  assigned  to  the  differ- 
ent routes.    Notices  of  collections  were  sent  out, 


64  FATIGUE  STUDY 

and  scliedules  strictly  adhered  to.  Co-operators 
were,  of  course,  allowed  to  keep  their  magazines 
in  any  place  or  in  any  way  that  they  chose,  but 
were  urged,  when  convenient,  to  place  the  col- 
lecting home  reading  box  in  their  respective 
front  halls,  near  the  front  entrance,  where,  on 
the  day  that  the  collector  called,  the  box  could  be 
emptied  by  him  into  the  waiting  automobile  with 
least  possible  delay  to  him  and  with  the  least 
inconvenience  to  the  household.  As  the  list  of 
subscribers,  or  co-operators,  has  grown,  it  has 
been  a  simple  matter  to  amplify  the  routes.  The 
same  methods  of  collection  are  maintained. 

In  another  plant,  each  member  of  the  or- 
ganization is  responsible  for  what  he  can  collect, 
and  brings  it  to  the  plant  himself. 

At  a  girls'  college,  where  there  is  a  branch, 
the  girls  collect  the  magazines  in  the  dormitory, 
or  ask  their  parents  and  friends  to  express  what 
they  have  finished  with,  and  then  box  the  sup- 
ply at  intervals  and  express  it  on  to  the  selected 
plants.  We  recommend  this  method  because  it 
is  so  simple. 

At  the  present  time  the  home  branch  demands 
a   very  small   amount   of  time   for   operation. 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        65 

"  Make  it  easy  for  every  one/'  might  well  be  the 
motto  of  the  home  reading  box  movement.  The 
"  out  "  basket  and  the  inter-office  system  furnish 
the  solution  for  the  office  force.  As  for  the 
worker  himself,  the  placing  of  the  box  where  it 
will  be  most  convenient  for  him  has  already  been 
emphasized.  Choose  a  place  where  the  worker 
can  pick  the  magazines  up  on  his  way  out  at  noon 
or  at  night,  with  room  enough  around  the  box 
to  allow  half  a  dozen  people  to  stop,  select,  and 
chat  as  they  turn  the  magazines  over.  One  must 
actually  see  the  workers  reading  the  magazines 
noon  times,  instead  of,  as  formerly,  losing  con- 
sistently at  poker  to  the  foremen,  in  order  to 
appreciate  the  full  benefits  of  the  home  reading 
box  movement.  It  may  seem  surprising  to  see 
the  workman  carrying  home  two  to  four  dollars' 
worth  (in  original  cost)  of  magazines  each 
week  —  reading  suited  to  every  member  of  the 
family.  But  there  is  really  nothing  strange 
about  it.  This  is  what  he  would  always  have 
done  had  he  had  the  chance. 

A  second  factor  in  maintenance  is  keeping  the 
reading  matter  up  to  date.  When  the  move- 
ment is  first  started,  the  workers  will  take  any- 


66  FATIGUE  STUDY 

thing  home,  out  of  interest  or  curiosity.  In  dis- 
tricts where  there  is  little  reading  matter  avail- 
able outside,  they  may  continue  to  take  home  al- 
most anything  put  into  the  box.  But  with  con- 
tinued reading  they  become  more  discriminating. 
This  is,  of  course,  exactly  what  is  desired.  Then 
the  reading  matter,  to  make  the  strongest  appeal, 
must  be  timely.  A  morning  paper  is  exciting 
in  the  morning,  quite  readable  at  noon,  not  im- 
possible at  night.  Except  as  practice  in  read- 
ing, it  has  little  value  the  next  morning.  A  May 
magazine  issued  in  the  middle  of  April  is  cur- 
rent literature  through  May  31st.  It  becomes 
a  last  month's  magazine  on  June  1st.  Any  one 
enjoys  carrying  the  magazine  of  the  month  about 
with  him.  It  is  a  fact  that  most  men,  especially 
those  who  do  not  have  many  magazines,  feel  a 
little  peculiar  when  seen  reading  an  old  maga- 
zine of  current  eventsi  in  public.  They  have  the 
consciousness  of  conspicuousness  that  at  least 
distracts  the  attention.  No  magazine  that  has 
pictures  or  stories  or  articles  on  travel,  or  any- 
thing that  is  interesting  at  any  time,  will  go 
without  a  great  circle  of  readers,  but  current 
events  must  be  current  in  order  to  hold  the  at- 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        67 

tention  thoroughly.  The  workers  will  be  glad, 
in  the  average  plant,  to  get  anything  to  read, 
but,  if  you  want  to  keep  them  excited,  send  the 
magazine  out  the  moment  that  you  have  finished 
with  it  at  home,  so  that  it  will  be  this  month's 
magazine.  The  strong  preference  for  this 
month's  magazine  may  not  be  founded  upon  wis- 
dom, but  it  is  very  human. 

How  the  Conditions  Vary. 

The  home  reading  box  will  prove  a  success  in 
any  plant,  no  matter  how  simple  the  installation 
and  running  plan  are,  but  it  can  only  retain  its 
best  results  when  a  careful  consideration  is  given 
to  the  conditions  that  affect  the  particular  prob- 
lem. The  important  feature  is,  of  course,  the 
type  of  worker  who  is  to  receive  the  literature. 
Where  the  group  of  workers  consists  of  foreign- 
ers, many  of  whom  read  no  English,  and  speak 
it  little,  the  picture  magazines  are  the  most 
sought.  Where  you  have  a  group  of  highly 
skilled  mechanics,  technical  magazines  and  trade 
catalogs  are  highly  appreciated.  There  is 
such  a  great  difference  in  the  workers  of  any 
one  place,  that  the  rule  is  to  give  them  anything 


68  FATIGUE  STUDY 

and  everything  —  from  the  Outlook  to  the  Police 
Gazette,  inclusive.  If  you  give  them  enough  to 
read,  they  will  sooner  or  later  waste  none  of  their 
time  on  anything  but  the  best.  The  desire  for 
good  reading  is  almost  wholly  a  matter  of  educa- 
tion, and  the  best  way  to  become  educated  is  to 
read,  read,  read.  If  you  are  at  a  distance  from 
civilization,  old  mgazines  will  be  almost  as  wel- 
come as  new. 

You  must  realize  that  the  problem  is  different 
in  different  cases.  What  some  people  need  is 
general  education.  Of  course,  that  is  what  we 
all  need,  but  the  worker  in  particular.  What 
others  need  is  specialized  teaching.  What  still 
others  need  is  relaxation.  All  need  amusement 
and  entertainment.  We  want,  of  course,  to  sup- 
ply what  is  interesting  and  profitable,  but  the 
final  test  is  giving  the  worker  the  thing  that  will 
please  him  most,  that  he  will  delight  to  have, 
that  he  may  increase  his  vocabulary  and  learn 
to  read  quickly,  for  not  till  then  will  he  ac- 
quire the  reading  appetite  and  habit.  Give  the 
foreigner  who  reads  with  difficulty  the  pictures 
with  the  simple  captions  that  he  can  "  spell  out." 
Give  the  factory  girl  the  woman's  magazine  that 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT        69 

will  show  her  how  to  trim  her  hats  and  fix  her 
dress,  and  that  may  give  her  all  sorts  of  useful 
home  ideas  besides.  Give  the  inventive  me- 
chanic the  technical  and  trade  magazine  that 
may  supply  the  missing  link  in  his  invention  or 
suggestion.  Give  the  socialistic  worker  the 
"  Political  Economy  Journal/'  that  will  put  his 
ideas  in  more  logical  shape.  Use  discrimination 
in  your  distribution  when  you  can,  but,  if  you 
cannot,  put  the  box  in  anyway,  fill  it  with  read- 
ing matter,  and  start  something  to-day. 

The  Home  Reading  Box  and  Fatigue. 

Not  only  is  the  influence  of  the  home  reading 
box  upon  fatigue  important,  but  the  amount  of 
fatigue  existing  has  a  strong  influence  upon  the 
home  reading  box.  The  home  reading  box  plays 
an  important  part  in  recovery  from  fatigue.  It 
is  a  help  to  the  worker  during  the  time  that  he 
is  not  at  work.  It  is  the  psychologist's  task  to 
investigate  the  relation  of  mental  fatigue  to 
bodily  fatigue,  and  the  proper  amount  of  mental 
stimulus  to  prescribe  or  allow  during  the  periods 
when  the  body  is  resting;  but  it  is  good  practice, 
while  waiting  the  results  of  the  psychologist's 


70  FATIGUE  STUDY 

investigation  to  be  formulated  into  industrial 
terms,  to  encourage  the  worker  to  read  whatever 
he  likes. 

The  By-products  of  the  Home  Reading  Box 
Movement. 

There  are  so  many  important  results  from  the 
home  reading  box  movement  that  it  is  difficult 
to  decide  which  are  the  products  and  which  are 
the  by-products.  Let  us  call  the  product  the 
fatigue  elimination  for  which  we  planned,  and 
that  results  when  we  establish  the  home  reading 
box  movement.  Along  with  this  come  the  fol- 
lowing : 

1.  The  recognition  of  fatigue  elimination  as 
a  vital  part  of  management.  This  is  se- 
cured by  numbering  the  box  as  a  sta- 
tion, by  using  the  "  out "  baskets  as,  rout- 
ing channels,  by  having  the  messenger 
carry  the  magazines  to  the  box  from 
the  baskets  as  part  of  the  daily  routine. 

2.  The  education  of  the  worker.  Quite 
aside  from  the  fact  that  the  reading  mat- 
ter interests,  amuses,  or  rests  him,  the 
worker  is  educated  by  his  reading.     It 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT         71 

is  this  side  of  the  movement  that  has  most 
interested    sociologists    and    educators. 
The  chief  trouble  with  the  worker  to-day 
is  that  he  needs  more  and  more  educa- 
tion.    The  average  worker  has  two  ob- 
stacles.    In    the    first   place,   he   has    a 
limited  vocabulary  that  retards  his  speed 
in  reading.     In  the  second  place,  he  can- 
not read  educational  matter  fast  enough 
to  hold  his  attention.     Through  the  read- 
ing matter  put  at  his  disposal,  he  does 
learn  more  words, —  both  how  to  recog- 
nize them  and  how  to  use  them.     He  thus 
becomes  better  able  to  express  himself, 
as   well   as   a   more   rapid   reader.     Of 
course  this  implies  mental  development. 
The  worker  who  is  better  educated  to 
start  with  also  acquires  more  vocabulary 
and  more  speed.     It  may  be  a  technical 
instead  of  a  general  vocabulary,  but  the 
development  is  the  same. 
3.  The  stimulation  of  invention.     This  takes 
place  through  the  ideas  obtained  from 
the  technical  magazines  and  trade  cata- 
logs.   We  have  noted  time  and  again 


72  FATIGUE  STUDY 

men  who  have  said,  in  effect, — "You 
know  I  got  this  idea  from  an  article 
I  read  from  the  box ; "  or,  "  You  know 
I  have  had  this  idea  for  a  long  time, 
but  I  could  not  see  exactly  how  to  work 
it  until  I  saw  a  picture  in  a  magazine  I 
got  out  of  the  Home  Eeading  Box ; "  or, 
again,  "  I  saw  a  picture  the  other  day 
that  suggested  something  that  w^e  could 
use  on  my  machine.  I  am  going  to  turn 
in  the  suggestion  to  the  Suggestion  Box." 
The  suggestion  box  and  its  use  are  to  be 
described  at  length  later. 

4.  The  stimulus  towards  making  suggestions 
for  prizes.  It  is  noted  here  that  the  read- 
ing not  only  stimulates  the  worker  mak- 
ing suggestions,  but  gives  him  a  chance 
to  put  his  ideas  into  more  practical  and 
working  shape.  Where  the  Suggestion 
Box  has  been  running  some  time  before 
the  Home  Reading  Box  has  been  put  in, 
we  note  the  sudden  rise  in  the  number 
of  suggestions  offered  after  the  installa- 
tion of  the  Home  Reading  Box. 

5.  Co-operation  with  public  and  travelling 


UBLIC  LIBRARY  BRANGI 


FOR  USE  OF  ALL  EMPLOYEE 
APPLYAT  INFORMATION  BUREA 


Fig.  -I 
The    I'liblie    Library    r-5rniieli    at   the    New    England    liiitt 
roni])any,   I'rovidence,   II.    I.,   for  eliminating  the  necessity, 
and   consequently   the   fatigue,   of  journeying  to   a    regular 
Public  Library. 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT         73 

libraries  and  other  educational  institu- 
tions. A  plant  library  is  becoming  a  reg- 
ular institution.  It  is  usually  one  of  the 
first  things  introduced  by  the  welfare  or 
betterment  department.  The  problem  is 
to  make  the  workers  take  out  the  books. 
In  some  plants  the  management  also  buys 
books  and  starts  a  circulating  library. 
In  others,  the  public  library  sends  a  loan 
collection  that  is  changed  as  often  as  the 
plant  desires.  Even  in  districts  where 
there  are  no  public  libraries  such  books 
are  available,  as  most  of  the  States  have 
State  loan  collections  of  this  type.  In  a 
typical  New  England  plant  the  librarian 
of  the  city  was  more  than  willing  to  co- 
operate. He  asked  the  plant  to  supply  a 
list  of  books  which  he  should  send.  His 
letter  was  discussed  in  the  foremen's 
meeting,  and  every  member  present 
helped  by  submitting  a  list  of  books  that 
he  had  read  and  enjoyed  most  in  his  life. 
From  these  lists  a  list  of  fifty  books  was 
made  up  and  sent  to  the  librarian,  who 
pronounced  it  the  best  list  that  he  had 


74  FATIGUE  STUDY 

ever  seen.  The  books  were  promptly 
brought  to  the  plant,  and  put  in  a  con- 
venient place  where  every  member  of  the 
organization  could  see  the  titles  and  bor- 
row them.  The  first  book  taken  out  by 
an  Italian  labourer  was  Dante's  "  Divine 
Comedy"  in  the  original.  But  the  li- 
brary at  the  plant  is  another  story.  The 
influence  on  the  home  reading  box  is  to 
make  the  library  much  more  popular  and 
to  affect  markedly  the  books  in  greatest 
demand.  There  is  a  strong  influence  also 
seen  upon  the  number  of  workers  who 
attend  evening  school  at  the  general  even- 
ing school  or  some  of  the  special  evening 
schools  in  the  vicinity. 
6.  The  influence  upon  clubs  and  other  or- 
ganizations. The  home  reading  box  fur- 
nishes also  topics  for  discussion  in  all 
of  the  organization  of  members  of  the 
plant.  This  influence  can  be  noted  in 
foremen's  meetings,  in  organization  meet- 
ings, and  in  any  formal  or  informal 
gathering  of  the  organization.  The  in- 
fluence is  seen  in  the  topics  discussed  and 


HOME  READING  BOX  MOVEMENT         75 

in  the  form  and  style  of  the  discussion. 
The  worker  can  speak  with  authority,  if 
some  magazine  or  catalog  "  backs  up " 
his  ideas.  He  can  bring  new  light  on  the 
problem,  if  he  has  seen  several  views  pre- 
sented in  the  material  he  has  read.  He 
has  a  definite  suggestion,  something  to 
say  when  he  is  called  upon,  something  to 
volunteer  if  he  is  not  called  upon. 
7.  The  spirit  of  co-operation.  Most  impor- 
tant of  all  the  spirit  of  co-operation  is 
fostered,  co-operation  among  the  workers, 
co-operation  of  worker  and  manage- 
ment, co-operation  between  all  interested 
in  the  movement  as  subscribers,  as  col- 
lectors, as  readers,  as  "  passers-on."  As 
a  positive  force  this  spirit  of  co-operation 
is  more  valuable  than  anything  else. 

How  to  Begin. 

Begin  by  interesting  the  management  force 
and  insuring  a  supply  of  reading  matter.  Then 
put  up  the  box  in  the  plant,  and  tell  the  men 
that  whatever  goes  in  it  is  at  their  disposal.  If 
you  have  the  right  ideas  back  of  it,  the  develop- 


76  FATIGUE  STUDY 

ment  is  inevitable.  Your  motto  must  be  "  Keep 
the  box  full.''  The  "  how  "  will  come  to  supply 
the  need.  The  workers  will  see  to  keeping  the 
box  empty,  if  you  do  your  part  properly.  The 
important  thing  is  that  the  movement  be  started 
at  once.  It  is  not  only  an  important  part  in 
making  more  pleasant  the  time  spent  in  recover- 
ing from  fatigue,  but  also  an  enormous  help  in 
fatigue  elimination.  It  is  to  this  that  we  must 
next  turn  our  attention. 

Summary. 

The  Home  Reading  Box  Movement  is  a  method 
of  putting  reading  matter  at  the  disposal  of  the 
worker.  It  collects  this  reading  matter  from  the 
homes  of  those  interested  and  from  the  desks  of 
members  of  the  organization  who  have  finished 
with  it,  and  places  it  in  a  box.  The  workers  take 
it  from  this  box  to  read  either  during  noon  rests 
or  at  home.  The  movement  not  only  helps  to 
overcome  fatigue,  but  has  many  valuable  by- 
products, and  is  an  important  element  in  fatigue 
elimination. 


CHAPTER  V 

PRELIMINARY   FATIGUE  ELIMINATION:      WHAT 

CAN   BE   DONE   IMMEDIATELY,   AT  THE 

VERY   BEGINNING 

The  Lighting  Problem. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  scientific  knowl- 
edge of  motion  study,  physiology,  and  psychol- 
ogy, or  even  of  hygiene,  in  order  to  make  pre- 
liminary, anti-fatigue  improvements  in  working 
conditions  of  any  industrial  organization  that 
has  not  already  had  a  regular  fatigue  survey 
made.  We  might  profitably  begin  with  lighting, 
since  no  fatigue  is  more  wearing  than  eye  fa- 
tigue. We  attempt  here  only  to  ask  a  few  gen- 
eral questions  about  the  light.  "  Is  there  enough 
light,  so  that  every  one  can  see  his  own  work  per- 
fectly? "  "  Is  the  light  properly  distributed?  " 
"  Is  glare  prevented?  "  Etc.  Nearly  all  factory 
managers  of  to-day  are  careful  to  provide  enough 
light  for  the  worker.  In  their  desire  to  furnish 
light  enough,  many  workers  often  have  more 

77 


78  FATIGUE  STUDY 

light  than  is  really  comfortable,  and  are  forced 
to  adjust  their  eyes  constantly  in  order  to  see 
distinctly.  The  lighting  to  be  found  in  most  fac- 
tories is  not  properly  distributed,  and  seldom 
strikes  the  work  at  the  least  fatiguing  angje. 

The  greatest  fatigue  from  lighting,  however, 
lies  in  the  question  of  glare  and  reflection.  One 
sees  examples  of  this  everywhere.  It  is  caused 
largely  by  a  misplaced  pride  in  equipment  or 
machinery,  and  by  keeping  everything  in  a  high 
state  of  polish.  One  is  often  disturbed  and  in- 
convenienced in  even  the  best  equipped  public 
libraries  by  the  glare  of  the  electric  lights  upon 
the  shiny,  varnished,  or  otherwise  highly  polished 
surfaces  of  the  desks.  Oftentimes  we  see  lights 
carefully  placed  so  that  the  individual  gets  light 
enough  with  his  light  in  the  right  location,  while 
lights  in  the  distance  shine  in  his  eyes.  Even 
when  the  lights  are  provided  with  adjustable 
shades,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  place  one's  book 
in  such  a  position  that  reflected  light  will  not 
shine  from  the  page  to  the  eyes.  The  glare  from 
nickel-plated  machinery,  be  it  a  large  factory 
machine  or  a  typewriter,  or  any  other  kind  of 
shop  or  office  equipment,  will  cause  fatigue,  if 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  79 

the  eye  is  required  to  work  constantly  in  the  vi- 
cinity; but  the  source  of  fatigue  is  not  recog- 
nized. A  dull  black  finished  machine  may  not 
be  as  beautiful  either  to  manufacturer  or  pur- 
chaser as  would  be  a  shiny,  nickel-plated  machine 
of  the  same  design,  but  the  main  question  is, 
"  How  much  comfort  will  the  operator  take  while 
using  the  machine?  "  The  kind  of  finish  of  such 
machinery  is  usually  affected  greatly,  if  not  de- 
termined wholly,  by  the  question  of  salesman- 
ship. Good  appearances  have  always  been  a 
large  element  in  making  sales,  and  it  is  natural 
and  right  that  the  manufacturer  should  like  his 
product  to  be  attractive  in  appearance,  and  that 
the  manager  should  take  pride  in  the  looks  of  his 
factory  or  office.  But  our  entire  standard  of 
what  is  desirable  in  "  good  looks  "  in  a  work  place 
has  changed.  We  look  now  for  efficiency  and  fa- 
tigue elimination  rather  than  for  ornament  and 
glaring  polish.  We  reduced  fatigue,  annoyance, 
and  distraction  on  several  pieces  of  work  by  hav- 
ing our  clients  paint  nickel  and  other  bright 
parts  with  a  coat  of  dull  black  paint.  For  the 
best  results  to  the  eye,  the  same  finish  as  that  on 
the  inside  of  a  camera  is  to  be  recommended. 


80  FATIGUE  STUDY 

We  are  coming  to  realize  more  and  more  that 
the  great  test  of  everything  is  suitability,  and 
that  the  mysterious  and  tangible  thing  called 
"  suitability  "  simply  consists  of  the  measure  of 
predetermined  units  of  desired  qualities.  The 
operating  room  in  the  hospital  is  bare,  with  plain 
walls  and  rounded  corners,  with  the  least  oppor- 
tunity for  dust  lodgment,  because  that  is  most 
suitable  to  the  type  of  work  done  there.  The 
modern  business  desk  is  flat  topped,  with  no  tiny 
drawers  or  cubby -holes  to  collect  papers  and  mis- 
cellaneous odds  and  ends,  because  this  type  of 
desk  conforms  best  with  present  day  systems  of 
office  management.  In  the  same  way  all  machin- 
ery and  office  equipment  should  be  without  so- 
called  ornament  or  polish,  because  in  this  way 
the  most  work  can  be  done  with  the  least  amount 
of  fatigue.  Our  whole  idea  of  ornament  is 
changing.  Suitability  here  also  is  the  standard, 
and  the  artists  have  done  noble  work  in  setting 
an  example  to  the  trades.  "  Suitability  "  must 
become  a  slogan  for  every  department  in  the 
organization. 

The  new  doctrine  will  interest  the  selling  de- 
partment, who  act  as  intermediaries  between  the 


Fig.  5 
This  photograph  shows  a  typical  "motion-studied"  desk. 
This  desk  is  cross-sectioned,  so  that  standards  can  be  made 
as  to  the  placing  of  those  things  that  are  constantly  re- 
quired for  work.  The  only  drawer  containing  any  per- 
manent materials  is  pulled  out  at  the  left.  It  contains 
duplicate  supplies  of  our  standard  forms,  so  arranged  that 
a  man  will  not  run  out  of  supplies  at  his  desk,  as  the 
holder  in  which  the  reserve  supply  is  placed  is  a  notification 
to  the  desk  supply  boy  that  supplies  in  addition  to  the 
weekly  furnishings  are  wanted  immediately. 

Fig.  6 

This  picture  shows  a  "one-motion"  pencil  rack.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  little  devices  that  we  have  used  to 
cause  every  one  throughout  the  plant  to  think  in  terms 
of  elementary  and  least  fatiguing  motions.  This  pencil  rack 
was  devised  little  by  little,  suggestions  coming  from  dif- 
ferent employees.  For  example,  one  suggestion  was  that 
the  grooves  be  painted  different  colours,  representing  the 
standardized  places  for  the  different  coloured  pencils.  An- 
other suggestion  was  that  a  deep  horizontal  groove  be 
added,  that  the  fingers  might  go  around  the  pencil  at  the 
exact  place  where  used  when  in  the  position  of  writing. 
The  slant  of  the  rack  is  that  slant  whereby  the  pencil  will 
surely  slide  down  by  gravity  to  the  stop  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pencil  rack,  but  not  slide  with  force  enough  to  break 
even  the  most  delicate  point. 

Such  a  device  alone  saves  very  little  time  or  fatigue, 
but  it  represents  one  of  many  kinds  of  devices  that  make  for 
habits  that  cause  less  fatigue. 


d 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  81 

manufacturing  department  and  the  public  who  is 
to  buy  the  product.  It  will  be  a  real  part  of  the 
preliminary  work  in  adjusting  such  conditions 
as  lighting  to  take  the  sales  department  and  pur- 
chasing department  into  conference  on  the  sub- 
ject. Let  all  interested  see  that  nothing  comes 
into  or  goes  out  of  the  plant  until  the  question, 
"  What  is  its  relation  to  fatigue?  "  has  been  con- 
sidered. We  forget  sometimes  that  a  thing  may 
have  value  not  only  because  it  has  certain  quali- 
ties that  eliminate  fatigue,  but  also  because  it 
lacks  certain  qualities  that  would  cause  fatigue. 
Go,  then,  through  your  own  plant  with  the 
question  of  glare  in  your  mind.  Examine  and 
inspect  every  work  place,  and  see  what  can  be 
done.  Not  only  for  reasons  of  glare,  but  for 
other  reasons  we  recommend  that  every  work 
place  should  be  inspected  for  unnecessary  fatigue 
by  having  a  man,  competent  in  fatigue  study, 
actually  sit  and  stand  in  the  working  position 
in  each  and  every  work  place  in  the  establishment 
once  every  three  months  during  the  installation 
period,  and  not  seldomer  than  once  per  year 
thereafter.  Sometimes  it  will  be  found  that  mov- 
ing the  nearest  light  or  shading  a  distant  light 


82  FATIGUE  STUDY 

will  be  all  that  is  necessary.  Sometimes  a  coat- 
ing of  dull  black  paint  on  some  of  the  working 
equipment  is  required;  sometimes  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  dull-finished  for  a  glossy  paper.  Some- 
times dull-coloured  blotting  paper  can  be  laid 
upon  the  place  where  the  reflected  glare  comes. 
Perhaps  a  dull  finish  upon  that  would  not  only 
save  the  time  of  your  workers,  but  also  those  who 
are  to  use  the  product  after  it  leaves  your  hands. 
The  world  worked  a  great  many  years  under  the 
motto,  "  Give  the  public  what  it  wants.'^  We  are 
beginning  to  realize  to-day  that  the  public  will 
want  just  exactly  what  it  is  educated  to  want; 
also  that  the  public  is  easily  educated  if  the  ar- 
guments that  are  used  are  based  upon  measure- 
ment, and  are  presented  in  attractive  form.  The 
lighting  problem  is  but  a  small  element  of  the 
problem  of  eye  fatigue.  This  will,  however,  be 
left  for  later  consideration. 

The  Heating,  Cooling,  and  Ventilating  Problem. 

This  problem  has  to  do  with  different  aspects 
of  seeing  that  the  worker  is  provided  with  proper 
air.  We  are  beginning  to  realize  that  the  air 
problem  is  much  more  complicated  than  was  for- 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  83 

merly  thought .  Eecent  investigations  have  gone 
to  prove  that  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  fully 
as  important  as  the  supply  of  air,  and  that  hu- 
midity is  another  important  element.  In  this 
day  no  one  can  feel  satisfied  with  his  solution  of 
the  air  problem  who  has  not  submitted  it  to  an 
expert,  and  installed  the  results  of  his  measured 
investigation.  In  the  meantime,  safety  lies  on 
the  side  of  providing  more  fresh  air  than  is  neces- 
sary. If  there  is  plenty  of  fresh  air,  unless  the 
work  itself  demands  peculiar  temperature  or  hu- 
midity conditions,  the  worker  is  fairly  safe.  The 
rest  periods  that  are  being  installed  will  do  much 
to  solve  the  air  problem,  as  they  furnish  an  ad- 
mirable opportunity  for  giving  the  work  places 
a  thorough  ventilation,  if  not  a  complete  "  airing 
out."  This  is  not  in  the  least  to  underestimate 
the  importance  of  proper  temperature  and  of 
proper  humidity,  as  will  be  noted  later.  All 
measured  records  of  outputs  should  include  rec- 
ords of  the  temperature  and  the  humidity.  The 
accumulation  of  this  data  is  daily  bringing 
nearer  the  time  when  standards  covering  these 
will  be  available.  In  the  meantime,  give  the 
worker  plenty  of  fresh  air  all  the  time. 


.  84  FATIGUE  STUDY 


Fire  Protection. 


The  average  manager  to-day  realizes  fully  the 
necessity  for  fire  protection.  It  is  not,  perhaps, 
so  fully  realized  that  the  mere  knowledge  that 
there  is  adequate  fire  protection  has  a  consider- 
able effect  upon  the  mental  comfort  of  many  of 
the  workers.  Nothing  is  more  fatiguing  than 
worry.  When  each  worker  in  the  establishment 
knows  that  in  case  of  a  fire  he  can  leave  the 
building  with  speed  and  perfect  safety,  he  has 
absolutely  no  worry  or  distraction  from  the  fire 
standpoint.  • 

Fire  protection  should  include  not  only  seeing 
that  the  building  and  all  it  contains  are  made  as 
fire-proof  as  possible,  and  installing  all  possible 
devices  for  putting  out  a  fire  should  one  start, 
but  also  the  fire  drill.  Here  the  motto  of  the  Boy 
Scouts  is  useful,  "  Be  prepared."  There  is  noth- 
ing so  satisfactory  as  preparedness.  The  fire 
drill  is  not  only  a  means  of  handling  the  organi- 
zation during  a  fire,  but  it  is  also  a  splendid 
preparation  for  meeting  an  emergency.  The 
great  problem  that  arises  in  any  unexpected  situ- 
ation is  the  problem  of  making  a  decision.     If 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  85 

one  can  acquire  the  habit  of  making  a  decision 
quickly,  and  can  also  make  habitual  certain  de- 
cisions in  certain  situations,  the  resulting  speed 
and  fatigue  elimination  is  remarkable.  Make 
the  response  to  the  fire  situation,  then,  standard. 
You  will  be  benefiting  jour  workers  not  only  by 
teaching  them  how  to  act  in  any  fire  anywhere, 
but  also  by  teaching  them  how  to  respond  to  a 
signal  in  a  standard  way.  These  various  sets  of 
habits  in  response  to  various  stimuli  should  be 
formed  in  the  first  years  of  the  school  life,  if 
not  before.  They  are  being  formed  at  this  time 
to-day  to  a  greater  extent  than  ever  before,  but 
unfortunately  the  majority  of  adult  workers  in 
the  industries  have  never  had  such  training  as 
children.  It,  therefore,  becomes  the  duty  of  the 
management  to  form  such  habits  as  rapidly  as 
possible. 

Safety  Protection. 

Safety  protection  in  its  broadest  sense  covers 
not  only  protection  from  grave  dangers,  but  from 
anything  that  might  have  a  harmful  effect  upon 
the  worker's  body  or  mind.  The  standard  to  be 
set  is  that  everything  should  be  safe  not  only 


86  FATIGUE  STUDY 

when  tlie  work  is  done  by  experienced  adult  work- 
ers, but  even  should  it  be  done  by  inexperienced, 
immature  or  tired  workers.  We  know  how  many 
accidents  happen  to  the  inexperienced  worker, 
that  would  never  happen  to  the  experienced 
worker.  We  all  know  how  many  children  are 
hurt,  where  an  older  person  would  see  and 
avoid  danger;  and  we  note  every  day,  more  and 
more  clearly,  that  the  exhausted  worker  is  to  an 
enormous  extent  more  susceptible  to  accidents 
than  is  the  rested  w^orker.  It  is  usually  the  tired 
motorman  who  has  the  collision.  The  tired  loco- 
motive engineer  passes  the  stop  signal.  The  ex- 
hausted motorist  is  in  the  accident.  The  tired 
operator  gets  his  fingers  caught  in  the  machine. 
The  overtired  sickroom  attendant  gives  the 
wrong  medicine. 

One  side  of  the  fatigue  elimination  question  is 
that  fatigue  elimination  cuts  down  accidents. 
The  other  side  is  that  cutting  out  the  chance  of 
accidents  eliminates  fatigue.  Here  again  the 
question  of  worry  is  an  important  element.  If 
one  know^s  that  the  working  conditions  are  abso- 
lutely safe,  he  can  concentrate  his  attention  upon 
the  work  in  hand. 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  87 

It  is  coming  to  be  understood  not  only  that  it 
is  mandatory  that  working  conditions  be  made 
healthful,  but  also  that  it  is  perfectly  possible, 
and,  in  most  cases,  easy  to  make  such  conditions 
healthful. 

Look  over  your  conditions,  then.  Put  the 
proper  safety  devices  on  the  machine,  the  tools, 
etc.  Install  the  vacuum  cleaners  that  will  col- 
lect the  dust  and  lint.  Put  the  goggles  or  nos- 
tril-guard, or  other  device,  on  the  worker,  that 
will  insure  to  him  clean  air  and  decent  working 
conditions.  Make  a  scientific  attack  upon  the 
problem  later,  but  put  in  a  safety  device  now, 
even  if  you  have  to  change  some  of  it  next  week. 
You  will  gain  the  immediate  return  that  will 
make  the  investigation  pay  from  every  stand- 
point in  the  changed  attitude  of  your  workers,  if 
in  nothing  else.  The  Museum  of  Safety  Devices, 
with  its  energetic  and  enthusiastic  secretary,  will 
show  you  what  has  been  done  and  what  can  be 
done  in  the  line  of  safety.  "  Safety  First "  has 
become  the  slogan  of  the  day.  If  we  make  it 
"  Safety  First,  beginning  now,''  we  shall  have  full 
working  directions. 


88  FATIGUE  STUDY 

The  Work  Place. 

The  working  conditions  that  we  have  so  far 
discussed  have  more  or  less  effect  npon  all  of  the 
workers  in  a  group.  We  come  next  to  the  in- 
spection of  the  work  place  of  each  individual 
worker.  The  first  consideration  here  is  that  he 
have  room  enough  in  which  to  work.  There  is 
an  enormous  amount  of  fatigue  involved  in  doing 
work  in  an  overcrowded  work  place,  yet  few 
workers  or  managers  realize  this.  Again,  habit 
is  involved  here,  and  the  habit  of  order  demands 
that  the  work  place  be  kept  in  an  orderly  condi- 
tion. Any  one  who  has  walked  through  facto- 
ries, shops,  or  any  places  where  work  is  going 
on  must  have  noted  the  tired  appearance  of  the 
workers  among  what  is  called  "clutter."  The 
girl  selling  ribbon,  who  walks  up  and  down  be- 
hind the  counter  through  an  accumulation  of 
paper,  cardboard  cores,  and  other  odds  and  ends, 
has  not  only  the  bodily  fatigue  of  pushing  the 
clutter  ahead,  or  kicking  it  aside,  but  also  the 
mental  fatigue  that  comes  from  adjusting  herself 
constantly  to  such  conditions.  The  folder  of 
cloth,  who  has  barely  enough  room  to  move  her 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  89 

hands  because  of  the  supply  of  finished  and  un- 
finished materials,  is  fatigued  from  the  clumsy 
position,  even  though  she  and  no  one  else  realizes 
this.  The  office  worker,  whose  finished  and  un- 
finished papers  are  heaped  in  confusion  before 
him,  expends  not  only  useless  motions  in  getting 
at  and  disposing  of  what  he  wishes  to  handle, 
but  also  mental  energy,  in  constantly  adjusting 
and  readjusting  himself  to  the  work.  There  has 
been  a  popular  idea  that  it  "  looked  busy  "  to 
have  plenty  of  work  around,  that  to  see  work  to 
be  done  would  impress  both  managers  and  work- 
ers with  the  need  for  applying  themselves  to  the 
work  more  constantly  and  with  considerably 
more  speed.  This  may  be  true  if  the  work  is  ar- 
ranged in  an  orderly  fashion,  but  disorderly  work 
is  far  more  likely  to  discourage  than  to  stimulate 
the  worker.  As  for  completed  work,  there  is  no 
excuse  for  leaving  large  quantities  of  it  at  the 
work  place  one  moment  longer  than  is  absolutely 
necessary.  Any  encouragement  that  it  might 
give  the  worker  could  better  be  given  by  a  record 
of  what  he  has  done. 


90  FATIGUE  STUDY 

The  Work-bench  or  Table. 

Few  work-benches  or  tables  should  be  consid- 
ered as  absolutely  satisfactory  that  do  not  per- 
mit the  worker  to  do  his  work  standing  or  sitting. 
Our  ideas  as  to  proper  work-benches  or  tables, 
and  as  to  the  proper  placing,  height,  etc.,  of  ma- 
chinery and  tools  have  too  often  been  prescribed 
to  us  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  articles,  who 
have  thought  more  of  what  was  convenient  to 
manufacture  than  of  what  was  least  fatiguing  to 
use.  Such  manufacturers  are  not  to  be  blamed 
in  the  least  for  their  attitude.  They,  naturally, 
have  been  guided  by  what  would  sell  best.  They 
have,  as  a  rule,  shown  themselves  more  than 
willing  to  supply  any  legitimate  demand.  The 
user  must  demand  what  will  be  best  for  his  work. 
It  is  no  slight,  short-time  job  to  determine  the 
proper  height,  positioning,  and  layout  of  a  work- 
bench, using  this  term  in  a  general  sense  to  cover 
the  place  of  any  kind  of  work  upon  which  the 
worker  is  engaged.  As  preliminary  work,  we 
may,  usually,  then,  boost  everything  that  can  be 
so  lifted  to  such  a  height  that  the  worker,  at  his 
option,  may  stand  or  sit.     If  it  becomes  a  case 


Fig.  7 

This  picture  shows  the  "  Gilbreth  "  table  laid  down  in  its 
lower  position.  This  table  is  particularly  adapted  for  a 
work-bench  or  table  where  it  is  desired  to  have  two  dif- 
ferent heights  for  different  kinds  of  work.  The  table  and 
its  load  can  be  picked  up  with  a  booster  truck  in  either 
this  position  or  the  higher  position  simply  by  operating 
the  lever  of  the  booster  truck  and  without  touching  the 
table  at  all. 


Fig.  8 
This   picture   shows    the   "  Gilbreth "    table   standing   in 
its  higher  position. 


Fig.  9 
This  is  a  sample  of  photographs  that  are  taken  to  im- 
press upon  the  foreman  the  reasons  why  certain  methods 
are  wrong.  For  example,  this  picture  shows  two  "  Gil- 
breth "  tables  resting  on  their  long  side  at  their  low  height, 
so  fixed  that  they  can  be  picked  up  by  "booster"  trucks. 
The  in-and-out  bins  are  not  the  same  size.  The  outward 
one  is  considerably  too  high  to  be  convenient  for  the  worker, 
and  the  worker  is  provided  with  a  box  instead  of  a  com- 
fortable stool. 


Fig. 


Fig.  8 


Fig.  9 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  91 

of  single  choice,  that  is,  his  either  standing  or 
sitting,  arrange  the  work  so  that  he  does  it  sit- 
ting, and  does  the  necessary  standing  or  moving 
about  during  his  rest  periods. 

The  change  in  industrial  conditions  has  made 
this  problem  important.  The  question  once  was, 
"  Can  we  make  it  of  a  quality  that  will  pass?  '^ 
Since  the  day  of  intensive  outputs,  the  question 
has  become,  ^^  How  many  can  we  make  of  a  given 
quality?  "  In  the  first  case,  any  kind  of  work- 
bench was  good  enough, —  the  worry  being  lim- 
ited to  the  question  of  ^"^  Can  we  make  it?  "  Now 
it  is  no  trouble  to  make  almost  anything ;  but  the 
worry  is  "  Can  we  make  enough  so  that  the  cost 
will  enable  us  to  pay  the  required  wages  and  still 
compete,  or  must  we  give  up  manufacturing  in 
this  location?  "  This  makes  us  think  of  the  least 
fatiguing  conditions  and  of  making  work-benches 
of  two  levels,  etc. 

The  Chair  or  Other  Fatigue-Eliminating  Device. 

Closely  related  with  the  work  place  is  the  work 
chair.  It  is  distinct  from  the  rest  chair  in  that 
it  is  specially  devised  to  be  used  during  work 
periods.     The  ideal   work  chair  is  of  such  a 


92  FATIGUE  STUDY 

height  that  the  worker's  elbows  will  bear  the 
same  relation  to  the  work  place  when  he  is  sitting 
as  they  would  if  the  work  place  were  properly 
adjusted  for  him  to  do  standing  work.  Types  of 
chairs  that  have  been  designed  and  that  are  prov- 
ing effective  in  eliminating  fatigue  while  at  work 
will  be  described  more  at  length  in  the  next 
chapter.  The  important  point  to  be  considered 
here  is  to  adjust  the  work  to  the  worker  if  possi- 
ble. Where  this  is  not  possible,  immediately, 
adjust  the  worker  as  best  you  can  to  the  work. 
Make  the  relation  of  his  elbows  to  the  work  the 
deciding  point.  If  at  present  the  work  must  be 
done  standing,  and  the  worker  is  too  small,  and 
it  is  easier  to  raise  the  worker  than  lower  the 
work-bench  or  table,  provide  some  sort  of  a  stand 
or  platform  that  will  put  him  at  the  proper  level. 
If  he  is  large,  raise  the  work-bench  by  lengthen- 
ing the  legs,  or  adding  a  false  top,  or,  in  some 
rare  cases,  by  lowering  the  standing  place.  If 
the  work  is  seated  work,  adjusting  the  chair  will 
probably  be  the  simplest  change  to  make.  Arm 
rests  often  afford  an  immediate  and  immense  re- 
lief, but  must  fit  the  particular  arm  and  be  ad- 
justable for  best  results.    A  head-rest  may  also 


Fig.  10 
Very  few  people  realize  that  the  working  girl  should  be 
measured  for  her  working  chair  in  which  she  spends  one- 
half  of  the  time  that  she  is  awake  during  her  entire  work- 
ing life.  For  this  purpose  we  have  had  testing  chairs  of 
varying  heights  made  for  the  girls  to  sit  in,  and  then  have 
made  a  chair  for  each  girl,  particularly  adapted  to  her  and 
her  work.  The  correct  height  of  chair  is  determined  much 
quicker  and  fits  much  more  accurately  than  does  an  adjust- 
able chair. 


Fig.  11 

This  picture  shows  a  worker  seated  at  standing  height 
operating  a  drill  press.  The  pieces  arrive  in  his  inward 
box  by  means  of  a  small  belt  conveyor  that  transports 
finished  pieces  from  the  machine  that  performs  the  previous 
operation. 


Fig.  10 


Fig.  11 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  93 

be  a  valuable  first  aid,  though  often  a  later  im- 
provement in  working  methods  will  eliminate  so 
much  eye  and  head  fatigue  that  the  head-rest  will 
not  be  needed.  In  other  types  of  work,  the  foot- 
rest  will  often  do  the  most  immediate  good.  If 
every  manager  were  made  to  sit  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  hours  to-day  with  his  feet  hanging,  there 
would  be  an  enormous  increase  in  the  number  of 
foot  rests  in  our  industrial  plants  to-morrow 
morning. 

Placing  the  Material  Worked  On. 

In  cases  where  it  is  difficult  to  readjust  the 
work  place,  much  fatigue  may  often  be  elimi- 
nated by  placing  the  work  in  a  better  position. 
In  fact  this  aspect  of  the  problem  should  always 
be  considered  along  with  the  readjustment  of  the 
work  itself.  For  example,  in  folding  handker- 
chiefs, a  folder  may  be  seated  at  a  table,  folding 
directly  on  the  table.  The  table  may  be  too  low 
for  the  work.  If  she  is  given  a  board  upon 
which  to  fold,  this  may  not  only  put  her  work 
itself  at  the  proper  height,  but  it  is  also  possible, 
with  trifling  added  expense,  to  provide  her  with 
a  table  in  two  adjoining  sections  at  two  different 


94.  FATIGUE  STUDY 

heights,  and  a  sloping  board  that  will  make  the 
work  less  fatiguing,  as  she  can  maintain  a  much 
better  posture.  She  will  also  be  enabled  to  put 
the  finished  product  at  a  lower  level.  This  will 
increase  speed,  while  at  the  same  time  eliminat- 
ing fatigue,  which  is,  of  course,  an  ideal  condi- 
tion. 

In  considering  the  placing  of  materials,  we 
must  consider  also  the  manner  in  which  the  ma- 
terials come  to  the  worker  and  in  which  they 
leave  him.  Our  later  method  study  will  make  so 
many  changes  here  that  only  very  apparent,  nec- 
essary, and  inexpensive  improvements  should  be 
made  at  this  stage.  Be  sure,  however,  that  you 
are  using  gravity  wherever  it  can  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage. Often  we  have  found  a  small  belt  con- 
veyor to  be  helpful  in  cutting  down  the  hand 
transportation. 

The  Placing  of  Tools  and  Devices. 

Gravity  and  mechanical  means  can  be  of  use 
here,  especially  in  carrying  working  equipment 
back  to  the  place  where  it  remains  when  not  in 
use.  Many  preliminary  improvements  can  also 
be  made  by  standardizing  the  place  where  the 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  95 

tool  is  to  be  left  when  not  in  use.  There  is  not 
only  the  bodily  fatigue  of  bringing  the  tool  from 
a  more  distant  place  than  is  necessary,  there  is 
also  the  unconscious  fatigue  of  constantly  decid- 
ing such  unimportant  questions  as  where  it  is 
to  be  placed. 

The  Clothing  o£  the  Worker. 

In  an  excellent  series  of  articles  on  dress,  pub- 
lished some  years  ago,  Miss  Tarbell  laid  down 
the  rule  that  "  suitability ''  is  the  final  test  of  a 
costume.  It  is  with  this  in  mind  that  the  cloth- 
ing worn  by  the  members  of  the  organization 
while  at  work  should  be  examined.  It  must  be 
said,  in  the  first  place,  that  there  is  no  more  rea- 
son for  the  common  custom  of  the  worker  pro- 
viding his  special  outer  clothing  while  at  work 
than  there  is  for  his  providing  his  other  tools 
and  equipment.  In  other  times,  the  workmen 
of  many  trades  preferred  to  provide  their  own 
tools,  and  did  so,  but  in  a  scientifically  managed 
plant  to-day,  the  workers  are  provided  by  the 
management  with  standard  tools.  The  man- 
agement has  standardized  the  best  in  a  tool,  and 
keeps  it  in  the  best  possible  working  condition. 


96  FATIGUE  STUDY 

In  the  same  way,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the 
management  to  provide  special  working  clothes, 
when  they  have  been  standardized.  This  in- 
volves, of  course,  the  problem  of  laundering, 
which  may  seem  complicated  to  one  who  is  not 
acquainted  with  what  has  been  done  in  this  field. 
There  has  been  very  little  done  in  most  kinds 
of  work  to  provide  a  costume,  designed  to  con- 
form to  motion  economy  and  least  fatigue,  that 
is,  at  the  same  time,  useful,  artistic,  and  pleas- 
ing. Progress  has  been  rendered  even  slower  by 
the  fact  that  many  workers  have  a  prejudice 
against  such  garments,  feeling  that  they  show  a 
class  distinction.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to 
create  a  fashion  of  wearing  such  garments,  like 
the  fashion  of  wearing  atelier  or  studio  clothes. 
In  no  place  can  an  example  of  unsuitable  clothing 
be  more  clearly  seen  than  in  the  laundry  industry. 
Much  of  the  work  done  in  the  typical  laundry  is 
done  while  standing,  and  the  women  who  form 
a  majority  of  the  workers  wear  clothes,  and  par- 
ticularly shoes  that  make  the  work  far  more  fa- 
tiguing than  it  need  be.  Yet  in  this  very  indus- 
try some  of  the  most  progressive  work  to  im- 
prove conditions  is  being  done.     In  Europe  a 


FATIGUE  ELIMINATION  07 

shoe  with  a  thick  wooden  sole  and  a  heavy 
leather  upper  over  the  front  part  of  the  foot  only 
is  considered  the  most  comfortable  and  least 
fatiguing.  It  is  also  certainly  the  cheapest  and 
most  durable.  But  Americans  will  not  wear 
such  a  shoe.  The  shoe  furnishes  the  most  diffi- 
cult feature  of  the  costume  problem.  Here 
again  the  most  important  thing  is  that  the 
"  fashion ''  of  wearing  comfortable  and  efficient 
garments  shall  be  set.  We  have  hoped  for  years 
that  sensible  fashions  in  workers'  clothes  might 
be  set  by  patterning  after  tennis  or  other  athletic 
costumes,  but  the  time  when  this  will  become 
general  seems  as  yet  far  distant,  due  to  the  neces- 
sity of  the  worker  using  his  oldest  and  discarded 
"  dress  up ''  clothes,  ultimately  for  his  working 
clothes.  Nevertheless,  the  great  loss  in  effi- 
cency,  due  to  the  general  custom  of  wearing 
clothes  that  interfere  mth  comfortable  work, 
and  that  cause  unnecessary  fatigue,  has  caused 
us  to  start  a  campaign  for  the  design  and 
standardization  of  more  suitable  clothes.  As 
yet  we  have  had  but  few  designs  submitted  in 
answer  to  our  appeal  to  the  worker  to  study  the 
clothes  problem  for  himself  or  herself.    We  are 


9S  FATIGUE  STUDY 

making  the  same  appeal  to  the  management  to 
suggest  costumes  for  the  approval  of  the  worker. 
In  order  that  there  may  he  no  duplication,  that 
we  may  pass  on  good  ideas,  we  have  started  a  lit- 
tle museum  where  typical  fatigue-eliminating 
devices  of  all  sorts  may  be  gathered,  and  studied 
by  any  one  interested.  We  must  next  describe 
in  some  detail  what  is  and  what  is  not  as  yet 
there,  in  order  to  offer  definite  suggestions  for 
preliminary  fatigue-eliminating  designs  that  can 
be  used  from  the  first  day  of  making  changes. 

Summary.  « 

Preliminary  fatigue  elimination  consists  of 
improving  lighting,  heating,  ventilation,  fire  and 
safety  protection.  It  also  consists  of  improv- 
ing work  places  and  work  tables,  of  providing 
and  improving  chairs,  and  rearranging  materials 
and  tools,  and  studying  the  clothing  of  the 
worker.  It  aims  to  make  immediate  inexpensive 
changes  before  entering  into  an  intensive  study 
of  the  problem. 


CHAPTEE  VI 

THE  FATIGUE   MUSEUM:      AN   OBJECT  LESSON 

What  a  Fatigue  Museum  Is. 

A  fatigue  museum  is  a  collection  of  devices 
for  and  information  concerning  the  elimination 
of  fatigue,  or  for  affording  rest  for  overcoming 
fatigue.  Its  purpose  is  to  serve  as  an  object  les- 
son as  to  how  the  fatigue  problem  may  be  ap- 
proached practically.  It  aims  primarily  not  to 
show  beautiful  exhibits,  but  to  show  devices 
which  have  actually  done  service.  Many  of 
these  bear  the  marks  of  clumsy  workmanship 
and  hurried  and  cheap  construction.  This  is  an 
advantage  rather  than  a  disadvantage.  It 
shows  that  fatigue  elimination  does  not  demand 
a  large  expenditure  of  money,  nor  depend  upon 
having  at  the  beck  and  call  highly  skilled  me- 
chanics to  make  the  devices.  Some  of  the  ex- 
hibits have  the  excellent  finish  and  the  careful 
workmanship  of  the  perfect  product;  but  no 

99 


100  FATIGUE  STUDY 

chair  or  piece  of  equipment,  photograph,  or 
drawing  is  too  rough  or  too  unfinished  to  find  a 
place  in  the  museum,  if  it  contains  an  idea  that 
actually  may  be  utilized  to  eliminate  or  overcome 
fatigue. 

The  Parent  Fatigue  Museum. 

The  parent  fatigue  museum  is  in  Providence, 
Khode  Island,  and  was  started  by  us  some  years 
ago  with  five  devices, —  three  chairs  and  two  de- 
vices for  conveying  material.  It  has  grown 
very  slowly,  and  even  now  comprises  but  a  dozen 
devices  and  a  few  score  of  photographs.  It  is 
open  every  day  of  the  year,  free  for  inspection  by 
visitors.  Most  of  the  devices  submitted  and  ex- 
hibited have  not  been  patented.  The  Fatigue 
Museum  patents  no  devices,  has  no  commercial 
interest  at  all  in  the  devices  exhibited,  but  it 
accepts  fatigue  eliminating  exhibits  of  any  kind 
from  inventors  or  managers,  and  posts,  along 
with  the  exhibit  and  the  description  of  its  special 
features,  the  name  of  the  inventor  and  his  ad-  ' 
dress;  this,  that  any  one  interested  may  get  in 
touch  with  the  maker  of  any  devices  already  in 
existence.    Realizing  that  few  find  it  possible  to 


THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  101 

visit  the  museum,  we  have  taken  photographs 
of  the  various  exhibits,  and  are  glad  to  send 
these  with  descriptions  to  any  who  are  inter- 
ested, and  who  write  to  ask  for  them. 

We  find  that  the  interest  in  the  museum  grows. 
Branch  museums  are  springing  up  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  Every  man  at  the  second 
session  of  our  Summer  School  of  Measured 
Functional  Management,  which  consisted  of 
professors  of  psychology,  engineering,  and  eco- 
nomics, volunteered  to  open  a  branch  at  his 
college.  We  are  glad  to  have  others  who  are 
interested,  no  matter  what  their  field  of  activity, 
start  branches  also.  All  that  is  necessary  to 
open  a  branch  is  to  collect  photographs,  draw- 
ings, or  actual  examples  of  fatigue  eliminating 
devices.  Some  of  the  college  fatigue  museums 
have  consisted,  until  now,  simply  of  such  collec- 
tions, though  one  college  in  particular  has  ap- 
propriated one  hundred  dollars,  and  is  provid- 
ing space  for  the  exhibition  of  working  models. 

The  parent  museum  is  called  Museum  of  De- 
vices for  Eliminating  Unnecessary  Fatigue, 
Number  One,  and  the  branch  museums  are  num- 
bered chronologically.    There  is  no  reason  why 


102  FATIGUE  STUDY 

such  museums  should  not  be  started  in  every  fac- 
tory, as  well  as  in  every  college,  and  we  are  de- 
lighted to  co-operate  with  any  one  who  desires 
to  start  such  a  museum. 

What  the  Fatigue  Museum  Contains. 

The  fatigue  museum  contains,  at  the  present 
time,  types  of  chairs,  types  of  devices  which  hold 
working  material  in  a  convenient  position,  sev- 
eral assembly  devices,  several  transportation  de- 
vices, a  work  apron,  and  various  drawings  and 
photographs.  It  emphasizes,  particularly,  the 
chairs,  as  we  feel  that  these  are  needed  immedi- 
ately and  pressingly  in  all  industries.  A  de- 
tailed description  of  the  chairs  will,  perhaps, 
prove  of  most  interest. 

What  the  Museum  Does  Not  Contain. 

The  museum  contains,  as  yet,  few  exhibits, 
though  we  are  expecting  more  in  the  near  future. 
We  are  constantly  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
it  contains  so  few  exhibits;  this,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  we  have  sent  out  appeals  since  1913, 
that  have  reached  large  numbers  of  people. 

A  short  time  ago  we  realized  that  the  average 


THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  lOS 

manufacturer  had  never  thought  of  his  work  in 
terms  of  fatigue.  We  could,  therefore,  expect 
no  fatigue  eliminating  devices,  as  he  either  had 
none  to  offer,  or  as  he  did  not  realize  what  he 
had.  Again  and  again,  a  manager  will  say,  in 
effect,  "  I  am  much  interested  in  your  museum, 
and  should  like  to  send  you  something,  but  we 
have  never  given  much  thought  to  the  subject 
of  fatigue  elimination,  and  therefore,  unfortu- 
nately, we  have  nothing  that  we  can  send."  In 
many  such  cases,  if  we  go  through  the  plant,  or 
the  factory,  or  the  store,  we  find  fatigue  elimi- 
nating devices,  and  immediately  say,  "  There, 
that  is  just  what  we  want.'^  Whereupon  the 
manager  replies,  "  Oh,  that.  Sure  enough  it 
does  eliminate  fatigue.  I  had  never  thought  of 
it  in  that  light.  We  have  always  had  that." 
Within  the  next  few  days  we  add  a  specimen 
to  our  collection. 

We  have,  perhaps,  not  sufficiently  emphasized 
the  fact  that  eliminating  fatigue  means  not  only 
that  we  know  the  things  that  we  lack,  but  also 
that  we  appreciate  and  fully  utilize  the  things 
that  we  have.  It  is  good  practice  to  use  what 
is  on  hand  before  laying  in  new  devices.     There 


104  FATIGUE  STUDY 

is  waiting  space,  then,  in  the  museum  for  any 
sort  of  device,  old  or  new,  well-known  or  not 
known  at  all,  that  does,  or  will,  or  may  eliminate 
or  overcome  fatigue.  There  is  an  especially 
warm  welcome  awaiting  any  such  type  of  stool 
or  chair.  The  older  and  more  worn  it  is  the 
better,  if  it  is  still  in  working  condition.  There 
is  a  chance  to  be  a  pioneer  by  exhibiting  cloth- 
ing that  is  artistic,  inexpensive,  and  appropriate 
for  doing  any  type  of  work  with  less  fatigue. 

Types  of  Chairs  and  Their  Uses. 

We  are  fortunate  in  that,  of  the  nine  chairs 
exhibited,  each  represents  quite  a  different  type. 
This  illustrates  the  large  field  for  chairs. 

Chair  No.  1  is  designed  for  work  to  be  done 
standing  or  sitting.  This  is  the  ideal  fatigue 
eliminating  chair,  as  it  allows  of  the  most  scien- 
tific distribution  of  work  and  rest  periods,  and 
for  the  greatest  variation  in  working  periods. 
The  work  for  which  this  chair  was  devised  was 
the  folding  of  handkerchiefs,  work  that  had  al- 
ways been  done  sitting.  This  chair  is  the  result 
of  accurate  measurement,  and  is  of  exactly  that 
height  that  will  permit  the  girl's  elbows  to  be 


Fig.  12 

This  chair  is  of  type  one,  devised  for  doing  work  that 
has  always  been  considered  sitting  work,  either  standing  or 
sitting.  In  this  case  an  ordinary  chair  has  been  boosted 
so  that  a  worker  can  sit  at  a  work-bench  made  exactly  the 
right  height  for  standing  work.  The  chair  is  provided 
with  ball-bearing  casters,  so  that  it  can  be  pushed  out  of 
the  way  or  pulled  into  position  with  little  effort.  This  de- 
vice helped  make  it  possible  to  divide  each  hour  into  work 
periods  and  rest  periods ;  and  at  the  same  time  into  standing 
and  sitting  periods, —  thus  not  only  eliminating  unnecessary 
fatigue,  but  providing  an  efficient  means  for  recovery  from 
necessary  fatigue. 

Fig.  13 
This  chair  is  of  type  two,  devised  for  doing  work  that 
has  always  been  considered  standing  work,  either  standing 
or  sitting.  By  its  use,  heavy  filing  can  be  done  with  greater 
ease  and  with  the  same  speed  and  efficiency.  The  chair  is 
inexpensive  and  easy  to  construct,  and  is  of  such  a  height 
as  best  suits  the  individual  worker. 


Fig.  14 

Another  view  of  the  chair  as  shown  in  Fig.  13.  The  pro- 
jecting foot-rest  on  this  chair  enables  a  man  to  push  the  file 
as  efficiently  and  more  comfortably  seated  than  standing. 


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THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  105 

at  the  same  distance  from  the  work  table  when 
she  is  seated  as  when  she  is  standing.  The  back 
of  the  chair,  like  the  backs  of  all  chairs  designed 
for  eliminating  fatigue  while  working,  is  de- 
signed for  work  and  not  for  rest.  The  chair  is 
provided  with  dome  casters,  which  allow  of  its 
being  pushed  away,  or  drawn  back  into  position 
with  the  least  amount  of  time  and  effort  possible. 
The  worker  on  this  chair  has  a  foot-rest  which  is 
a  part  of  the  working  table. 

Chair  No.  2  is  devised,  in  order  that  a  kind  of 
work  which  has  always  been  done  standing  may 
be  done  sitting.  The  work  is  heavy  filing  done 
at  a  vise,  and  the  chair  is  provided  with  a  pro- 
jecting foot-rest.  The  work-bench  is  of  such  a 
height  that  the  man  may  work  either  standing  or 
sitting.  In  actual  practice  the  filer  works  half 
of  the  time  sitting,  and  half  of  the  time  standing. 

Chair  No.  3  is  designed  to  eliminate  vibration 
of  floors  that  carry  much  high-speed  machinery. 
An  ordinary  chair  is  provided  with  springs,  that 
relieve  the  operator  of  one  hundred  per  cent,  of 
the  vibration  of  the  floor.  This  chair  was  de- 
signed for  work  at  a  machine,  and  the  operator 
is  provided  with  a  foot-rest,  which  rests  on  felt 


106  FATIGUE  STUDY 

to  kill  the  vibration.  Note  also  the  verandas  on 
two  sides  of  the  chair  for  foot-rests. 

The  fourth  type  of  chair  is  also  a  shock  ab- 
sorbing chair,  which  is  more  complicated  in  its 
construction. 

The  fifth  type  of  chair  is  designed  for  school 
work,  and  has  a  rest  for  the  right  arm  that  may 
be  lowered  or  put  in  place. 

The  sixth  type  of  chair  is  a  modification  of  a 
chair  already  in  use.  A  chair  which  was  once, 
perhaps,  fairly  comfortable  has  become  worn  off 
from  years  of  use.  This  is  rectified  by  boring 
holes  in  four  small  blocks  of  wood,  and  fitting 
them  to  the  legs  of  the  chair,  which  brings  the 
chair  back  to  its  originally  desired  height.  A 
well-known  Middle  West  manufacturer  used  iron 
piping  for  the  same  purpose  as  the  four  blocks 
of  wood.  This  is,  in  some  cases,  easier  to  se- 
cure, although  not  so  good  for  the  shop  flooring. 

A  seventh  type  of  chair  is  an  adjustable,  tele- 
scopic stool,  which  the  inventor  claims  is  adapt- 
able to  both  factory  and  office  work.  This  is  ad- 
mirable in  that  it  allows  of  the  chair  being 
adapted  to  some  degree  to  its  user  at  the  expendi- 
ture of  little  time  or  money. 


Fig.  15 
A  worker  using  the  filer's  chair,  shown  in  figures  13  and  14. 


Fig.  16 

This  chair  is  of  type  three,  designed  to  eliminate  fatigue 
from  surrounding  conditions.  An  ordinary  chair,  which  was 
fairly  useful  and  comfortable,  was  provided  with  springs 
that  relieved  the  operator  of  100  per  cent,  of  the  vibration 
of  the  floor.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  device  attached 
to  the  chair  is  extremely  simple  and  inexpensive,  wtiile 
at  the  same  time  it  solves  a  problem  that  has  always  been 
rated  as  most  difficult. 


Fig.  15 


Fig.  16 


THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  107 

The  eighth  type  of  chair  is  devised  for  rest 
periods.  We  have  two  examples  of  this.  One 
is  a  small  folding  stool  contributed  by  a  local 
drygoods  merchant,  much  interested  in  fatigue 
elimination,  who,  as  a  result  of  our  fatigue 
eliminating  campaign,  has  installed  many  of 
these  stools  in  his  large  store.  The  other  is  a 
more  complicated  chair  with  adjustable  seat  and 
back.  This  is  designed  not  only  for  causing 
least  possible  fatigue,  but  also  in  the  interests  of 
correct  posture  of  the  user. 

Four  of  the  chairs  show  particularly  what 
can  be  done  with  little  expenditure  of  time  or 
money.  Only  the  filing  chair  is  a  "  new  "  chair, 
in  the  sense  of  the  entire  chair  having  been  made 
especially  with  the  idea  of  fatigue  elimination. 
The  other  three  chairs  consist  of  chairs  already 
in  use,  supplied  with  cheap  adjustments,  made 
of  material  already  at  hand.  These  may  impress 
the  reader  as  extremely  inartistic.  This  they 
undoubtedly  are,  but  these  are  chairs  of  the 
transitional  period,  made  to  better  working  con- 
ditions immediately,  and  to  be  used  until  stand- 
ard methods  are  introduced,  and  new  stand- 
ard fatigue  eliminating  devices  substituted.    It 


108  FATIGUE  STUDY 

must  also  be  noted  that  three  out  of  the  four 
chairs  are  provided  with  what  are  practically 
footstools,  although  only  one  is  shown  in  the  pic- 
ture, as  only  one  is  attached  to  the  chair  itself. 
The  fourth  chair  allows  of  the  feet  being  placed 
comfortably  on  the  floor. 

Other  Fatigue  Eliminating  Devices. 

The  other  fatigue  eliminating  devices  exhibited 
are  useful  more  as  suggestions  than  as  object  les- 
sons. There  are  various  type  of  packets  upon 
which  materials  are  so  placed  as  to  be  most  handy 
to  the  worker.  These  packets  are  filled  by  un- 
skilled, that  is  to  say,  young,  or  inexperienced, 
learning  or  unskilled  workers  in  such  a  way  that 
the  material  can  be  removed  from  the  packet  by 
the  high-priced  man  with  the  least  amount  of 
effort  possible.  Filling  the  assembly  packet  is 
an  excellent  training  to  the  unskilled  worker,  as 
will  be  shown  later.  One  of  these  packets  is  con- 
tributed by  a  local  manufacturer  of  cotton  cloth. 

The  other  devices  for  holding  materials  in  po- 
sition consist  of  two  devices  for  holding  motion 
picture  films  in  position  so  that  they  may  be 
studied  with  the  least  amount  of  effort  possible. 


Fig.  17 
These  chairs  are  of  type  four,  devised  to  relieve  fatigue 
caused   by   vibration.    Besides   the  chairs,   foot-rests  were 
devised  to  hold  the  feet  without  any  vibration  from  the 
floor;   and,  also,  special  treadles. 


Fig.  18  • 

This  chair  is  of  type  six,  which  modifies  a  device  already 
in  use,  so  that  it  will  become  a  more  efficient  device  for 
eliminating  fatigue.  The  chair  shown  was,  ordinarily,  fairly 
comfortable,  but  the  legs  had  become  worn  with  time.  It 
has,  as  shown,  been  raised  to  that  height  which  is  most 
comfortable  for  the  worker.  The  work-bench,  in  this  case, 
could  not  be  raised  so  that  the  work  could  be  done  either 
Btanding  or  sitting.  The  problem  was  to  have  the  sitting 
work  done  with  the  least  unnecessary  fatigue  possible. 


CD 


THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  109 

The  transportation  devices  illustrate  the  prin- 
ciple of  gravity,  and  also  the  principle  of  con- 
stant and  careful  adjustment  of  the  transporta- 
tion to  the  worker. 

How  to  Use  the  Devices. 

The  devices  of  the  fatigue  museum  are  useful 
rather  as  suggesting  devices  than  as  object  les- 
sons. If  your  problem  is  to  enable  seated  work 
to  be  done  standing,  raise  your  work-bench  to  the 
standing  level,  and  put  your  work  chair  on  stilts 
with  casters,  provided  the  work  is  not  of  a  kind 
that  requires  a  chair  against  which  one  can  push. 
If  your  problem  is  to  enable  work  that  has  been 
done  standing  to  be  done  sitting,  construct  a 
chair  that  will  bring  the  worker  to  the  desired 
height.  If  your  problem  is  to  reduce  vibration, 
put  springs  under  the  four  legs  of  your  chair.  If 
your  problem  is  simply  to  make  sitting  work  more 
comfortable,  be  sure  that  the  chair  is  of  the 
proper  height ;  that  the  seat  slopes  right  and  has 
a  rounded  front  edge ;  and  that,  if  it  has  a  back, 
it  is  one  that  does  not  interfere  with  work.  If 
the  chair  is  too  high,  saw  off  the  legs ;  if  too  low, 
add  wooden  blocks.     Chairs  of  this  type,  as  actu- 


no  FATIGUE  STUDY 

ally  used  by  the  workers,  will  usually  offer  sug- 
gestions as  to  what  needs  to  be  done. 

In  many  factories  one  is  astounded  to  find 
books,  cardboard,  cloth,  blocks  of  wood,  almost 
anything  heaped  in  the  seat  of  a  chair  to  make 
the  chair  higher.  Wherever  workers  are  seated 
at  a  work-bench  that  is  not  adjustable,  look  for 
trouble  with  the  chairs ;  that  is,  a  tall  girl  crouch- 
ing in  a  kindergarten  chair  fit  only  for  a  child  or 
a  dwarf,  a  short  girl  balanced  on  a  high  stool  at 
a  high  table,  without  a  proper  place  to  rest  the 
feet.  No  matter  what  the  height  of  the  table  or 
the  chairs,  if  many  workers  are  seated  at  the 
same  table,  and  the  chairs  are  not  adjustable, 
there  is  field  for  study.  If  workers  vary  much 
as  to  height,  they  should  be  sorted  for  height, 
and  sent  to  tables  with  adjustable  height  legs; 
or,  if  workers  cannot  be  sorted,  the  short  ones 
should  be  provided  with  platforms  to  bring  their 
elbows  to  the  right  height  to  fit  the  table,  which 
should  be  adjusted  to  fit  the  tall  workers.  If 
your  problem  is  to  make  standing  work  more 
comfortable,  and  a  chair  seems  impracticable 
with  the  methods  used,  perhaps  a  chair  or  some 
kind  of  seat  could  be  provided  for  rest  periods. 


THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  111 

Starting  Your  Own  Fatigue  Museum. 

We  advise  every  employer  to  set  aside  a  small 
space  and  assemble  at  least  one  example  of  each 
type  of  fatigue  eliminating  device  actually  in  use, 
or  that  may  suggest  a  device  to  be  used.  In  the 
absence  of  a  regular  motion  study  man  assigned 
for  the  purpose,  the  ideal  state  of  affairs  would 
be  to  have  every  member  of  the  management  walk 
through  the  factory  once  and  look  at  present  fa- 
tigue conditions  in  order  to  see  what  improve- 
ments could  be  made.  This,  however,  is  almost 
too  Utopian  to  hope  for. 

It  is  the  exception  where  the  worker  in  any 
large  plant  knows  intimately  any  part  of  the 
plant  except  the  few  little  work  places  where  he 
has  toiled.  A  girl  who  had  worked  for  years  in 
a  cotton  mill,  and  who  finally  went  into  house- 
hold work,  begged  to  be  taken  on  a  visit  of  in- 
spection to  the  factory.  "  But,"  said  the  woman 
who  was  to  make  the  inspection,  "  I  thought  you 
worked  there.  Surely,  you  must  know  about  the 
factory.''  "  No,  indeed,''  said  the  girl,  "  I  never 
went  anywhere  except  to  get  into  the  room  where 
the  machine  was  that  I  tended."     Even  in  one 


112  FATIGUE  STUDY 

excellently  managed  plant  where  welfare,  or  bet- 
terment, is  a  prime  consideration,  a  girl  in  the 
office  department  had  never  once  been  out  into 
the  plant  itself.  There  is  an  enormous  amount 
of  educational  work,  that  is  also  fatigue  elimi- 
nating work,  to  be  done  in  putting  each  member 
of  the  organization  in  touch  with  the  entire  work- 
ing plant.  There  is  not  time  or  space,  however, 
for  an  extended  discussion  of  this  problem  here. 
Therefore,  until  the  workers  can  be  taken  to 
see  the  fatigue  eliminating  devices  in  actual 
operation,  collect  such  devices,  or  photographs 
of  them,  and  put  them  all  in  one  place.  Start 
a  little  fatigue  museum  of  your  own,  even  if  it 
is  limited  to  a  properly  labelled  scrap-book  of 
pictures  always  ready  for  inspection,  and  observe 
the  effect  upon  management,  workers,  and  in- 
vention in  general.  This  effect  will  be  reflected 
in  the  suggestion  box,  which  in  itself  provides  a 
unit  of  measurement  of  the  progress  of  the  fa- 
tigue eliminating  campaign.  When  fatigue  elim- 
ination has  progressed  to  this  stage,  when  actual 
devices  are  being  installed,  when  the  entire  or- 
ganization has  come,  as  it  will,  to  think  in  terms 
of  fatigue  elimination,  the  problem  may  be  at- 


THE  FATIGUE  MUSEUM  113 

tacked  scientifically.  This,  the  scientific  elimi- 
nation of  unnecessary  fatigue,  is  the  subject  for 
discussion  in  the  next  chapters. 

Summary. 

A  fatigue  museum  is  a  collection  of  devices  for 
eliminating  or  overcoming  fatigue.  The  parent 
museum  in  Providence  aims  to  exhibit  such  de- 
vices as  object  lessons,  and  to  encourage  the 
spread  of  fatigue  study  by  sending  photographs 
with  descriptions  to  all  who  are  interested 
enough  to  start  museums  or  even  a  scrap-book 
for  pictures  of  devices  for  the  elimination  of  un- 
necessary fatigue  in  the  industries.  Our  fatigue 
museum  specializes  on  chairs,  but  welcomes  de- 
vices of  any  kind.  It  advocates  the  establish- 
ment of  similar  museums  in  colleges,  or  other  in- 
stitutions, and  also  in  industrial  plants  and  work 
places  of  all  kinds. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

fatigue  measurement  and  fatigue  elimina- 

nation:    how  to  attack  the  problem 

scientifically 

History  of  Fatigue  Measurement. 

Accurate  fatigue  measurement  is  in  its  infancy 
as  applied  to  tlie  industries.  Such  measurement 
can  take  place  only  where  there  is  complete  co- 
operation between  the  man  measured  and  the 
man  making  the  measurements.  With  the  co- 
operation, that  is  the  natural  result  of  measured 
functional  management,  comes  the  possibility  of 
making  accurate  measurements  of  fatigue  under 
either  laboratory  or  shop  conditions.  It  is  as 
easy  to  pretend  to  be  tired  as  to  pretend  to  be 
working.  There  is  little  or  no  profit  in  measur- 
ing pretended  states.  Under  the  scientific  form 
of  management  there  is  no  incentive  to  pretend 
anything.  The  incentive  is,  rather,  to  show  ex- 
actly what  one  is  doing  and  how  one  feels,  in 

114 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  115 

order  that  accurate  records  may  be  made,  and 
that  the  offered  rewards  may  be  received.  We 
have,  then,  at  this  stage,  where  every  member  of 
the  organization  realizes  that  co-operation  is  nec- 
essary for  the  good  of  all,  the  opportunity  to 
measure  fatigue  with  considerable  accuracy. 

We  have  also  the  means.  The  psychologists 
and  physiologists  who  have  measured  fatigue  rely 
almost  solely  upon  output  as  the  unit  of  meas- 
urement. Decrease  in  output  in  a  comparable 
unit  of  time,  and  all  other  working  conditions 
remaining  the  same,  is  taken  as  indicative  of 
being  the  result  of  fatigue.  The  observed  man 
who  is  measured  may  add  introspections,  he  may 
tell  how  he  feels  while  working  and  at  the  close 
of  work;  but  this  testimony  of  his,  while  inter- 
esting and  worthy  to  be  recorded  with  the  other 
data,  cannot  be  submitted  to  the  accurate  meas- 
urement of  the  observer.  In  applying  fatigue 
measurement  to  the  industries  in  the  same  way 
that  we  measure  activity  and  what  it  produces, 
we  try  to  discover  at  the  same  time  the  condition 
of  the  worker  by  his  own  accounts  as  to  how  he 
feels.  We  have  not  only  conditions  under  which 
scientific  observations  can  be  made  and  a  method 


116  FATIGUE  STUDY 

of  making  them,  we  have  also  devices  for  meas- 
uring both  activity  and  output  and  relative  rate 
of  output. 

Fatigue,  a  Test  of  Efficient  Activity. 

As  for  the  relation  between  fatigue  and  activ- 
ity, practically  all  of  our  knowledge  of  fatigue 
is  derived  from  our  knowledge  of  the  activity 
that  produces  it.  We  measure  the  activity  itself, 
and  its  product.  We  then  measure  the  interval 
of  time  that  elapses  before  the  organism  has 
gained  enough  activity  to  perform  the  same  work 
in  the  same  amount  of  time  and  with  the  same 
results.  A  study  such  as  this  cannot  extend  over 
a  short  space  of  time  only.  It  must  be  carried 
on  until  any  fatigue  that  is  accumulated  shows 
itself ;  but  it  is  simply  a  question  of  extending  the 
time  over  which  the  experiment  stretches,  and  of 
varying  the  length  of  rest  periods  until  the  de- 
sired information  is  recorded  in  the  data.  As  we 
come  to  compare  various  activities  and  their  re- 
sults, we  find  that  the  fatigue  is  a  measurement 
of  the  efficiency  of  the  activity.  If  two  methods 
of  doing  the  same  piece  of  work  take  the  same 
amount  of  time  and  produce  the  same  amount  of 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  117 

output,  and  if  the  interval  needed  to  recover  from 
the  second  is  longer  than  that  needed  to  recover 
from  the  first,  then,  other  conditions  being  equal, 
the  first  method  is  the  more  efficient.  A  close 
study  of  the  variables  that  affect  the  two  meth- 
ods will  be  necessary  to  show  exactly  why  the 
first  method  is  more  efficient  than  the  second,  but 
the  excess  fatigue  certainly  shows  that  it  is  more 
efficient. 

Fatigue  can,  then,  be  looked  at  in  two  ways : 

1.  As  a  product  of  doing  work. 

2.  As  a  test  of  efficiency  in  doing  work. 
The  amount  of  work  done  and  the  product  are 

affected  by  various  elements  which  affect  the  ac- 
tivity. 

The  Activity. 

The  activity  is  affected  by  the  amount  of  prac- 
tice that  one  has  had.  It  is  affected  by  the  ex- 
tent to  which  the  action  has  become  a  habit.  It 
ia  affected  by  the  degree  with  which  one  has  got 
into  the  swing  of  the  work.  This  may  be  an  in- 
dividual difference.  Some  workers  find  it  possi- 
ble to  start  at  work  at  very  much  the  pace  that 
they  will  use  when  they  are  well  into  it.    A  large 


118  FATIGUE  STUDY 

number  of  our  records  shows  that  most  workers 
never  get  into  the  swing  at  the  beginning  of  a 
work  period.  Not  only  the  hour  of  the  workday, 
but  the  time  in  the  work  period  will  have  a  strong 
effect  upon  the  amount  of  work  turned  out. 
Again  we  have  the  question  of  spurt,  when  for 
some  reason  or  other  the  activity  is  being  per- 
formed at  a  pace  that  is  above  the  normal  pace. 
The  effect  of  all  these  elements  of  the  activity 
upon  the  fatigue  itself  depends  upon  the  relation 
between  mental  fatigue  and  bodily  fatigue.  This 
relationship  must  be  worked  out  by  psychologists 
and  physiologists.  It  is  for  the  observer  who 
measures  fatigue  in  the  industries  to  attempt  to 
discover,  as  far  as  he  can,  what  fatigue  exists, 
and  why  it  exists,  and  then  to  make  both  physical 
and  mental  conditions  under  which  the  activity 
is  carried  on  as  favorable  to  efficient  activity  as 
possible. 

Motion  Study,  Micromotion  Study,  the  Cycle- 
graph,  and  the  Chronocyclegraph  Method 
as  Measurers  of  Activity. 

We  measure  activity  in  two  ways : 

1.  By  motion  study,  which  records  in  great 

detail  the  methods  used  in  doing  the  work. 


Fig.  19 

This  picture  shows  the  examination  of  the  original  micro- 
motion films  at  the  motion  study  laboratory  of  the  New 
England  Butt  Company. 


Fig.  19 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  119 

2.  By  records  of  outputs  when  using  the  va- 
rious methods. 

Motion  study  consists  of  dividing  the  activity 
into  the  smallest  units  possible,  measuring  the 
variables  of  these  units,  studying  the  data,  and 
deducing  methods  by  which  the  activity  may  ex- 
press itself  more  efficiently.  Motion  study,  what- 
ever its  type,  implies  time  study,  in  that  the  time 
the  motion  occupies  is  one  test  of  the  efficiency 
of  the  motion. 

Micromotion  study  is  the  name  we  have  given 
to  our  method  of  recording  motions  and  their  sur- 
rounding conditions  by  means  of  a  cinemato- 
graph and  one  of  our  special  clocks  which  regis- 
ters extremelv  small  intervals  of  time,  smaller 
than  the  elapsed  time  between  any  two  pictures 
of  the  cinematograph  film.  The  micromotion 
method  enables  us  to  record  easily  motions  down 
to  less  than  a  ten-thousandth  of  a  minute.  This 
gives  us  all  the  information  we  could  desire  for 
purposes  of  time  study,  and  the  record  is  abso- 
lutely free  from  the  errors  in  time  due  to  the 
personal  element.  Although  many  of  the  vari- 
ous elements,  or  units,  that  comprise  the  path 
of  a  complete  motion,  or  cycle  of  activity,  ap- 


120  FATIGUE  STUDY 

pear  on  different  pictures  in  the  film,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  Yisualize  or  measure  the  orbit  or  exact 
path  of  the  motions  by  means  of  the  film. 

The  cyclegraph  method  permits  us  to  record, 
measure,  and  see  this  orbit  or  exact  path  of 
a  motion  or  cycle  of  motions.  Small  electric 
lights  are  attached  to  the  hands,  or  any  other 
members  of  the  body  involved  in  the  motion.  A 
photographic  plate  or  film  is  then  exposed  while 
the  motion  is  made,  with  the  result  that  a  path 
of  light,  which  resembles  a  white  wire,  is  seen 
upon  the  developed  plate,  representing  the  path 
of  the  motion.  The  effect  is  best  gained  by  a 
stereoscopic  photograph,  which  shows  this  path 
in  three  dimensions. 

The  chronocyclegraph  method  enables  us  not 
only  to  see  the  path  of  the  motion,  but  also  its 
directions,  and  the  duration  of  the  entire  motion 
and  of  its  elements.  These  chronocyclegraphs 
are  made  by  attaching  lights  to  the  moving  parts 
of  the  body,  or  machine,  as  in  the  cyclegraph, 
and  by  introducing  a  properly  timed,  pulsating 
interrupter  in  the  circuit,  which  may  be  adjusted 
not  only  to  record  the  time  and  duration,  but 
also  to  record  these  with  different  graphs,  repre- 


Fig.  20 
This  picture  shows  a  lamp  attached  to  the  hand  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  cyclegraphs  or  chronocyciegraphs  of  mo- 
tions in  connection  with  obtaining  motions  of  least  fatigue. 


Fig.  21 

This  picture  shows  an  experiment  that  was  carried  on 
by  us  some  time  ago  for  determining  the  laws  pertaining  to 
the  times  and  fatigue  of  motions  of  different  lengths. 

The  operation  studied  is  that  of  moving  a  sevetn  pound 
weight.  The  times  are  divided  into  three  parts :  Length  of 
time  from  starting  to  picking  up  weight;  length  of  time 
from  picking  up  weight  to  depositing;  and  length  of  time 
of  recovery  to  standing  position  from  depositing.  The  ex- 
periment proved  that  the  time  of  motions  of  different 
lengths  is  practically  the  same  unless  those  of  the  same 
length  are  consecutively  repeated.  The  quantity  of  work 
that  can  be  done  in  a  day  is,  of  course,  much  less  with 
long  motions  than  with  short  ones,  due  to  extra  time 
needed  to  overcome  the  fatigue  of  the  long  motions. 


o 


CI 

6 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  121 

senting  the  paths  of  each  of  several  motions  made 
by  various  parts  of  the  body  and  their  exact  dis- 
tances, exact  times,  relative  times,  exact  speeds, 
relative  speeds,  and  directions. 

By  means  of  the  "  penetrating  screen,"  it 
is  possible  to  pass  a  cross-sectioned  plane  in 
any  direction  through  any  desired  plane,  or 
through  any  number  of  planes  in  the  cubic  space 
under  observation.  This  makes  it  possible  to  re- 
cord the  data  with  great  accuracy  in  three  dimen- 
sions, and  to  read  the  information  from  the  data 
easily. 

These  various  types  of  motion  study  supple- 
ment rather  than  supplant  one  another.  Motion 
study  is  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  observing 
the  variables  that  affect  such  study,  and  for 
arousing  such  co-operation  between  observed  and 
observer,  as  will  make  possible  the  testing  of  the 
differences  of  the  effects  of  the  variables.  Micro- 
motion study  provides  for  an  accurate  record  of 
what  happened,  with  all  such  attending  circum- 
stances as  appeal  to  the  eye.  It  is  the  greatest 
aid  in  transference  of  skill  and  experience  from 
a  worker  who  has  it  to  one  who  does  not  possess 
such  skill  and  experience.     The  cyclegraph  is 


122  FATIGUE  STUDY 

useful  in  providing  a  simple,  easily  understood 
record  of  the  path  that  any  activity  followed. 
The  chronocyclegraph  is  most  valuable  when  the 
activity  is  complicated,  and  when  the  time  and 
direction  of  the  elements  of  the  motion  must  be 
visualized  continuously  in  order  to  analyze,  meas- 
ure, synthesize,  and  standardize  the  process. 
The  penetrating  screen,  finally,  is  useful  in  re- 
cording the  three  dimensional  paths  and  speeds 
of  even  the  smallest  unit  of  activity. 

These  methods  of  applying  motion  study  have 
been  patented,  but  have  been  for  years  freely  at 
the  disposal  of  the  colleges,  which  have  begun  to 
use  them  as  means  for  recording  accurately  scien- 
tific data  of  various  kinds.  They  have  justified 
themselves  as  more  accurate  than  ordinary  rec- 
ords of  activity,  and  have  within  recent  times 
been  put  on  a  basis  which  makes  their  cost  com- 
pare favourably  with  less  accurate  methods  of 
measurement.  What  is  more,  we  have  discov- 
ered in  our  data,  especially  in  the  chronocycle- 
graphs,  direct  records  of  fatigue,  that  we  believe 
are  the  first  records  of  fatigue  ever  made  under 
industrial  conditions.  The  micromotion  films 
also  show  breaks  in  well  established  habits  of 


Fig.  22 

Typical  chronocyclegraph  of  the  motion  and  fatigue  study 
of  a  bricklayer,  laying  three  brick  in  the  old  method. 


Fig.  23 
Typical  cyclegraph  of  motion  and  fatigue  study  on  a  drill 
press,  showing  cyclegraph  of  path  of  motions  of  the  left 
hand. 


Fig.  24 

Typical  chronocyclegraph  of  compositor  setting  type  by 
hand. 


Fig.  23 


Fig.  24 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  123 

several  motions  that  are  undoubtedly  due  to  fa- 
tigue, but  the  irregularities  in  the  orbit  line,  that 
appear  in  the  cyclegraphs,  and  that  must,  be- 
cause of  close  control  of  the  variables,  be  due  to 
the  fatigue  alone,  are  more  impressive  from  the 
physiological  viewpoint. 

Testing  the  Work  by  Motions  Required. 

It  is  for  motion  study  to  explain  the  methods 
of  deducing  standard  methods  by  using  activity 
records  obtained  through  the  various  types  of  mo- 
tion study  data.  Many  such  standards  have  been 
derived.  We  have  in  our  motion  study  data 
many  elementary  motions  with  records  of  the 
space  they  cover  and  the  amount  of  time  they  re- 
quire. With  these  we  can  test  the  given  work 
to  see  which  of  these  motions  it  includes.  Hav- 
ing tabulated  this,  we  can  make  an  intensive 
study  of  the  motions  that  remain.  When  this 
study  has  been  made,  we  can  combine  the  result- 
ing elementary  motions  that  have  proven  them- 
selves most  efficient  into  the  working  method,  and 
classify  the  work  as  work  of  a  type  requiring  a 
certain  set  combination  of  motions. 


124,  FATIGUE  STUDY 

Testing  Workers  by  Motion  Capabilities. 

In  the  same  way  we  may  test  a  worker  by  mo- 
tion learning  capabilities,  before  assigning  him 
to  any  kind  of  work.  Having  reduced  activities 
to  their  motions,  we  can  test  the  worker's  physi- 
cal capability;  his  mental  capability  we  can  test 
by  determining  his  learning  curve.  To  these  re- 
sults we  add  a  record  of  his  interest  in  various 
types  of  work.  From  the  resulting  three  types 
of  records,  we  can  make  placements  that,  we  be- 
lieve, are  far  in  advance  of  any  that  have  been 
made  up  to  the  present  time. 

The  Use  of  Activity  Records  as  Data  for  Elimi- 
nating Fatigue. 

The  fact  that  activity  records  are  made  of  ex- 
tremely small  elements  moving  through  a  short 
path  in  a  small  amount  of  time  means  that  the 
fatigue  records  cover  the  same  short  periods. 
This  is  a  great  help  in  making  fatigue  study.  A 
new  combination  of  elements  of  activity  will  also 
mean  a  combination  of  concurrent,  or  included, 
elements  of  fatigue.  The  combination  may  have 
some  effect  on  the  activity.  If  so,  it  will  also  af- 
fect the  fatigue,  but  at  the  present  state  of  the 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  125 

art  the  most  accurate  and  satisfying  work  can  be 
done  by  making  use  of  activity  records  to  elimi- 
nate unnecessary  fatigue,  without  waiting  for 
some  hypothetical,  direct  records  of  fatigue,  that 
may  be  worked  out  in  the  future.  In  other 
words,  if  you  have  accurate  records  of  fatigue 
included  in  your  activity  records,  use  these  im- 
mediately, without  attempting  to  make  separate 
records  of  the  fatigue,  that,  while  valuable,  will 
mean  delaying  fatigue  elimination,  perhaps  in- 
definitely. 

The  Time  Element. 

Too  much  credit  can  never  be  given  to  Dr. 
Taylor  for  his  emphasis  on  the  laws  of  the  time 
element.  He  was  the  first  to  call  to  our  attention 
the  fact  that  operations  should  be  divided  into  the 
smallest  possible,  timable  units  for  setting  tasks. 
In  this  way  it  is  possible  for  timed  elements  to 
be  used  in  many  combinations,  thus  eliminating 
an  enormous  amount  of  unnecessary  work.  Dr. 
Taylor  also  recommended  that  work  periods 
should  be  timed  separately  from  the  rest  periods. 
Our  new  measuring  devices  for  time  study  make 
it  possible  to  record  much  shorter  intervals  of 


126  FATIGUE  STUDY 

time  than  were  heretofore  known,  and  now  the 
limiting  factor  in  the  problem  is  no  longer  the 
quickness  with  which  we  can  use  a  stop-watch. 

Our  methods  and  devices  have  been  criticised 
as  being  specially  adapted  to  problems  involving 
the  minutia  of  motions,  but  too  expensive  for  the 
general  time  study  purposes.  A  moment's  con- 
sideration will  show  that  the  turning  of  the  crank 
of  the  cinematograph  may  be  done  as  slowly  as 
the  requirements  of  the  particular  case  of  time 
study  demand.  In  fact  we  have  films  that  were 
taken  at  the  rate  of  one  picture  every  ten  min- 
utes. With  the  sixteen  pictures  to  the  foot,  a 
foot  will  last  one  hundred  and  sixty  minutes,  or 
two  hours  and  forty  minutes,  at  a  total  maximum 
cost  of  six  cents.  If  desired,  the  speed  of  the 
crank  can  be  instantly  changed  to  any  desired 
speed  to  enable  one  to  take  pictures  too  quickly 
to  be  seen  with  the  eye,  and  more  accurately  than 
the  highest-priced  time  study  man  can  take  by 
means  of  a  stop-watch. 

Our  methods,  devices,  and  records  of  activity 
and  of  output  fulfil  every  requirement,  and  are 
now  perfectly  satisfactory.  Fatigue  still  re- 
mains the  elusive  factor.     Nothing  but  long-con- 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  127 

tinned  observation,  absolute  accuracy  and  co-op- 
eration between  all  interested  will  reduce  fatigue 
study  to  the  science  wliich  motion  study  has  be- 
come. 

The  Standardization  of  Work  and  Rest. 

Meantime,  in  standardizing  work  and  rest  pe- 
riods, it  is  customary  and  proper  to  make  a 
larger  allowance  for  fatigue  than  the  records 
show  to  be  necessary.  We  cite  as  an  example  a 
case  of  folding  handkerchiefs.  The  old  method 
of  folding  was  to  have  the  workers  seated  at  low 
tables  in  chairs  of  ordinary  height,  working 
throughout  the  entire  day,  with  the  only  rest 
periods  an  hour  at  noon  and  such  ceasing  from 
folding  as  took  place  when  the  workers  went  for 
supplies,  or  took  back  finished  product  to  be 
checked,  or  other  rest  periods  that  they  took  at 
will,  as  the  work  was  piece  work.  After  an  in- 
tensive study  of  the  problem,  made  not  only  to 
increase  their  output  but  to  better  their  w^ork- 
ing  conditions  and  allow  them  to  earn  more 
money  with  less  fatigue,  the  following  schedule 
of  work  and  rest  periods  was  adopted. 

Each  hour  w^as  divided  into  ten  periods.     The 


128  FATIGUE  STUDY 

work  was  placed  on  a  work  table  of  the  proper 
height.  The  handkerchiefs  already  folded, 
those  being  folded,  and  those  to  be  folded  were 
arranged  in  the  most  convenient  and  efficient 
manner.  All  variables  of  the  work  had  been 
studied,  and  the  results  of  the  study  standard- 
ized. The  first  four  periods,  that  is,  the  first 
twenty-four  minutes,  the  girl  remained  seated. 
She  worked  five  minutes  and  rested  one;  again 
worked  five  minutes  and  rested  one.  That  is 
to  say,  she  had  four  minutes'  rest  out  of  the 
twenty -four,  and  spent  this  rest  seated  so  that 
she  might  lose  no  time  in  getting  back  to 
the  work.  The  next  two  periods,  that  is  for 
twelve  minutes,  the  girl  was  standing.  Again 
she  worked  five  minutes  and  rested  one  minute, 
and  for  the  second  time  worked  five  minutes  and 
rested  one  minute.  That  is,  she  rested  two  out 
of  the  twelve  minutes  in  the  same  position  in 
which  she  worked.  The  third  group,  a  space  of 
eighteen  minutes,  she  spent  either  sitting  or 
standing,  as  she  pleased.  Here  also  she  worked 
five  minutes,  rested  one  minute ;  worked  five  miu' 
utes,  rested  one  minute ;  worked  five  minutes,  and 
rested  one  minute  in  the  position,  either  standing 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  129 

or  sitting,  wliich  she  herself  had  chosen.  The 
last  period,  which  consisted  also  of  six  minutes, 
was  spent  by  the  girl  walking  about  and  talking, 
or  amusing  herself  as  she  otherwise  chose.  With 
this  might  be  combined  the  last  rest  minute  or 
period  No.  9,  which  thus  gave  her  seren  consecu- 
tive minutes  for  unrestricted  rest  activity. 

This  was  the  schedule  for  all  hours  of  the  day 
except  the  hour  before  noon  and  the  hour  before 
closing  time  at  night.  In  these  hours  the  first 
nine  periods  resembled  the  first  nine  periods  of 
the  other  hours ;  but  the  tenth  period  was  spent 
in  work,  as  a  long  rest  period  was  to  follow. 

At  the  end  of  the  day's  work  under  these  con- 
ditions the  girls  accomplished  more  than  three 
times  the  amount  of  their  previous  best  work, 
with  a  greater  amount  of  interest  and  with  no 
more  fatigue.  It  may  be  stated  here  that  the 
primary  aim  in  this  investigation  was  not  to  elim- 
inate fatigue,  but  to  increase  the  wages  of  the 
girls  by  raising  the  output.  The  operators  had 
not  seemed  overfatigued  at  the  start.  They 
maintained  that  they  were  less  tired  at  the  close 
of  the  day  when  using  the  new  method,  and  cer- 
tainly the  amount  of  fatigue  caused  by  producing 


ISO  FATIGUE  STUDY 

an  amount  of  output  such  as  was  made  under 
the  old  method  was  reduced  to  an  enormous  ex' 
tent.  With  further  practice  these  preliminary 
results  will  be  further  improved. 

It  is  of  fundamental  importance  in  making  an 
investigation  of  this  type  that  the  allowance  for 
fatigue  be  greater  than  the  physical  condition  of 
the  worker  at  the  end  of  the  day  seems  to  indi- 
cate necessary.  It  is  also  fundamental  that  the 
results  of  the  investigation  be  at  once  incorpo- 
rated into  actual  shop  practice.  If  each  member 
of  the  organization  is  at  once  placed  under  such 
working  conditions  that  he  can  enjoy  the  rest 
periods  along  with  the  high  pay  that  comes  from 
a  large  product,  he  will  co-operate  most  fully  in 
the  progressive  work  of  fatigue  elimination.  It 
is  a  fundamental  rule  of  scientific  management 
that  the  rate  once  set  must  never  be  cut.  It 
should  also  be  a  fundamental  principle  of  our 
management  that  rest  periods  once  established 
should  not  be  abolished  or  shortened.  Let  the 
error,  if  error  there  is,  always  result  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  worker,  never  to  that  of  the  em- 
ployer. If  you  have  not  allowed  enough  rest, 
make  the  allowance  larger,  then  reinvestigate. 


FATIGUE  MEASUREMENT  ISl 

If  you  have  allowed  too  much  rest,  let  the  job 
stand  as  one  to  be  given  for  special  merit,  and 
attack  some  other  problem.  The  result  will  be 
an  increased  co-operation  which  will  more  than 
compensate  for  the  occasional  over  allowance  for 
fatigue. 

Summary. 

Fatigue  measurement,  as  applied  to  the  indus- 
tries, is  a  new  science.  It  is  being  developed 
through  a  study  of  the  data  of  activity.  The 
methods  of  measurement  of  activity  are  motion 
study,  micromotion  study,  the  cyclegraph,  the 
chronocyclegraph,  and  the  penetrating  screen. 
Through  the  data  derived  by  these,  we  standard- 
ize motion  paths,  motion  habits,  and  all  other 
motion  variables.  These  enable  us  to  test  and 
classify,  select  and  place,  both  work  and  workers, 
and  to  eliminate  unnecessary  fatigue.  Through 
the  time  element  we  compare  our  various  data, 
and  finally  arrive  at  results  that  enable  us  to 
standardize  work  and  rest  periods.  Any  errors 
in  length  of  rest  periods  must  result  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  worker. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS:      HOW   PRESENT  PRAC- 
TICE IS  DEVELOPED  INTO  STANDARD 
PRACTICE 

A  Concrete  Example  of  Making  Adjustments. 

In  order  to  make  plain  exactly  how  changes 
are  made  and  take  place  from  the  condition  be- 
fore analysis,  measurement,  and  synthe^s  are 
made  to  the  standard  method  of  doing  the  work, 
we  shall  take  a  concrete  example  and  consider  it 
from  every  phase.  This  concrete  example  will 
be  the  assembly  of  a  braider  or  machine  for  man- 
ufacturing braid,  which  is  a  standard  product  of 
the  New  England  Butt  Company.  With  the  co- 
operation of  Mr.  John  G.  Aldrich,  who  has  since 
become  president  of  the  company,  the  problem  of 
assembling  a  braider  was  studied,  both  in  the 
laboratory  and  in  the  shop. 

It  is  not  generally  recognized  that  ultimate 
standards  can  best  be  derived  in  the  research 
room  and  laboratory.     The  standard  practice  in 

132 


MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS  133 

the  plant  will  be  the  result  of  the  laboratory  prac- 
tice. If  the  finer  measurements  are  made  in  the 
shop  during  the  general  working  operations, 
much  time  will  be  lost,  as  shop  conditions  cannot 
be  controlled  as  laboratory  conditions  can.  It 
has  been  said  that  laboratory  experimentation  is 
not  directly  available  in  shop  practice,  because 
laboratory  conditions  differ  from  shop  condi- 
tions. They  certainly  do  differ,  but  so  do  the 
ultimate  shop  conditions  that  must  be  introduced 
with  the  new  standard  method.  The  ultimate 
conditions  in  the  shop  are  far  nearer  the  labora- 
tory conditions  than  are  the  shop  conditions 
prior  to  installation  of  the  new  methods. 

Former  Method  of  Assembly. 

The  method  of  assembly  in  use  before  the  mo- 
tion study  and  fatigue  study  were  applied  was  as 
follows :  The  base  of  the  braider  was  placed  on 
an  ordinary  low  bench,  and  the  various  parts 
were  kept  in  tote  boxes  or  on  the  floor.  The 
worker  selected  such  parts  as  he  wished,  and  put 
the  braider  together  according  to  any  traditional 
method  that  he  had  learned,  together  with  such 
changed  as  his  whims  dictated. 


134  FATIGUE  STUDY 

How  the  New  Practice  was  Derived. 
'  All  of  the  previous  assembly  methods  had  been 
determined  by  the  usual  practice  of  putting 
braider  parts  together.  In  the  present  case  the 
braider  was  taken  apart ;  that  is,  handled  in  the 
reverse  order  of  assembly,  in  order  to  determine 
from  a  new  viewpoint  the  best  method  of  putting 
the  various  parts  together.  The  parts  were  laid 
out  on  a  table  in  the  sequence  in  which  they  were 
disassembled.  This  allowed  the  various  mem- 
bers of  the  braider  divisions,  groups,  and  sub- 
groups to  be  studied  in  relation  to  one  another 
and  also  separately. 

The  Two  Factors  to  Be  Considered. 

The  problem  resolved  itself  into  two  parts : 

1.  To  make  the  table  of  the  most  convenient 
height  and  shape  to  hold  tools  and  the 
base  group  as  it  grew,  while  being  assem- 
bled. 

2.  To  provide  the  most  convenient,  tempo- 
rary, resting  place  for  the  tools  and  the 
various  parts,  before  they  were  carried  to 
the  final  position  of  assembly. 

The  two  parts  were  so  closely  related  that  any 


Fig.  25 

Easel  for  simplifying  motions  and.  reducing  fatigue  from 
work  of  assembly.  The  obvious  sequence  in  our  packet 
method  eliminates  the  delay  and  fatigue  of  the  decision  of 
choice. 


Fig.  26 

The  rigging  on  a  typical  Gilbreth  packet,  as  used  for  the 
assembly  of  braiders  and  cord  machines  at  the  New  Eng- 
land Butt  Company.  This  picture  shows  only  the  support- 
ing devices.  The  length  of  the  supporting  devices  is  de- 
termined by  what  is  to  be  held  upon  them.  The  right 
quantity  of  each  kind,  therefore,  can  be  put  on  without 
counting.  These  devices  are  standardized  and  are  but  few 
in  number.  They  are  specially  designed  and  arranged  for 
picking  up  parts  with  both  hands,  simultaneously,  in  an 
obvious  sequence  with  shortest  motions  and  least  fatigue. 


^  A  1  ii  K 

^  Si  m  a'li  »  ft 

ji  m  m  m  m  it 

A%'lKJteiwa«iaHiwK«iirmiiitaKMlMiak«lllldiii 

atm1mmmimmmmmi»iimimiat(i*mmiit(k 
jmmmmmmmmmmmitHmmmtiMmi* 


MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS  1S5 

modification  in  one  demanded  a  modification  in 
the  other. 

Outline  of  the  Changes  to  Be  Made. 

It  became  apparent,  as  the  work  progressed, 
that  the  determining  elements  were  (1)  to 
shorten,  as  far  as  possible,  the  distance  for  trans- 
porting the  arms  and  hands  while  loaded;  (2)  to 
arrange  the  parts  so  that  their  sequence  of  use 
would  be  obvious;  (3)  to  position  each  piece  so 
that  it  could  be  grasped,  transported,  and  re- 
leased in  the  shortest  time  with  the  least  expendi- 
ture of  effort  and  with  the  least  resulting  fatigue. 
This  meant  that  the  parts  should  be  arranged  on 
some  sort  of  a  holder,  or  packet,  that  would 
shorten  the  transporting  distance,  and  that  the 
base  group  should  be  placed  upon  a  table  that 
would  carry  it  as  near  this  packet  as  possible. 

The  Solution  of  the  Problem. 

A  packet,  which  was  practically  a  table  with 
its  top  extending  vertically,  was  placed  near  the 
table  supporting  the  base  group,  and  removable 
wire  rods  of  the  right  length  were  placed  in  it  to 
support  the  various  pieces  in  the  best  position  for 


136  FATIGUE  STUDY 

grasping.  This  also  considered  the  shortest  dis- 
tance for  transporting  the  arms  and  hands, 
whether  empty  or  loaded.  These  table  packets 
were  then  modified,  following  closely  the  princi- 
ples of  the  design  of  the  brick  packet,  especially 
the  hand-hole  feature  for  firm  grasping  with  one 
motion  and  for  quick  counting  of  the  number  of 
pieces.  The  packets  now  consist  of  strips  of 
wood  two  inches  apart,  horizontally,  and  two 
inches  apart,  vertically,  with  holes  for  pins,  in- 
terchangeable wire  rods,  forked  hooks,  and  other 
hangers,  including  interchangeable  platforms, 
shelves,  and  vertical  supports,  extended  and  posi- 
tioned for  still  shorter  reach,  and  holding  in  turn 
such  devices  as  pins  to  permit  the  best  position 
for  handful  grasping  without  disturbing  the  mo- 
tions of  the  hand  or  the  wrist  from  the  natural 
position,  or,  that  is,  the  position  most  resembling 
that  of  normal  rest. 

The  right  position  for  grasping  anything  with 
least  fatigue  is  that  position  that  will  permit 
grasping  without  turning,  twisting,  or  holding 
the  wrist  at  all  from  its  natural  resting  position, 
that  is,  with  muscles  in  natural  balance.  It  is 
but  natural  that  this  should  be  the  best  way,  for 


MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS  137 

it  cuts  out  the  positioning  motions  of  the  hand 
prior  to  grasping. 

Two  reasons  that  the  strips  of  wood  were  made 
two  inches  apart,  horizontally,  and  two  inches 
apart,  vertically,  w^ere: 

1.  Because  we  desired  to  get  standard  data 
at  the  same  time  comparable  with  our 
other  standard  data.  We  might  also  use 
it  for  checking,  by  means  of  motions  in 
another  trade,  the  underlying  laws  of  mo- 
tions, which  we  had  already  deduced  in 
several  other  trades. 

2.  Because  we  desired  to  have  the  motions  in 
very  nearly  the  same  places  every  time,  in 
order  to  get  the  extra  efficiency  and  the 
lesser  fatigue  that  come  from  the  habit 
that  is  formed  in  this  reaching  and  grasp- 
ing. 

Many  of  these  laws  have  since  been  re-checked 
and  used  in  methods  of  least  waste  for  the  trans- 
ference of  skill  from  one  trade  to  another. 
Habits  have  been  formed  that  permit  a  much 
greater  amount  of  output  with  less  fatigue. 

This  latticed  packet  gives  us  the  same  dimen- 
sions as  our  cross-sectioned  background.    We  use 


138  FATIGUE  STUDY 

four  inclies  in  our  American  work,  and  ten  centi- 
metres in  our  European  work  for  these  distances 
—  the  difference  between  ten  centimetres  and 
four  inches  being  almost  exactly  one-sixteenth  of 
an,  inch,  or  so  small  a  difference  as  to  be  practi- 
cally negligible  in  work  on  motion  study. 

This  cross-sectioned  packet  has,  therefore,  not 
only  many  mechanical  benefits,  such  as  forming 
supports,  either  horizontally  or  vertically  for 
hangers,  but  it  is  also  cheap  to  build,  light  in 
weight,  and  forms  an  excellent,  relative  scale  for 
measurement  and  for  "recording  the  surround- 
ing conditions ''  of  a  case  of  micromotion  study. 

In  fatigue  study,  as  in  all  other  work  of  inves- 
tigation, it  is  difficult  to  obtain  assistants  who 
can  "  observe  what  they  can  see."  Of  those  ob- 
servers who  observe  what  they  can  see,  few  will 
write  down  what  they  observe.  Of  those  rare 
ones  who  can  observe  and  will  always  write  down, 
few  have  the  habit  of  maintaining  the  standard 
conditions  in  a  long  series  of  observations.  We 
therefore  cross-section  the  background,  make  our 
devices,  when  possible,  multiples  of  four  inches, 
and  record  the  conditions  by  means  of  photogra- 


Figs.  27  and  28 

This  picture  shows  the  arrangement  of  parts  for  the  base 
group  of  the  braider.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  are 
three  adjustable  shelves,  two  vertical  and  one  horizontal, 
for  the  support  in  a  more  convenient  position  of  certain 
parts  that  have  to  be  picked  up,  for  least  fatigue,  by  hand- 
fuls  at  a  time.  The  various  kinds  of  shelves,  clamps,  and 
tables  for  different  sizes  or  kinds  of  machines  can  be  re- 
moved or  attached  to  the  packet  with  one  motion  of  the 
hand. 

Note  that  the  top  plate  is  in  position  and  that  the 
tools  are  at  the  right  side  of  this  top  plate  before  the  as- 
sembler is  sent  to  the  job  at  all.  These  parts  are  arranged 
in  an  obvious  sequence,  and  a  photograph  similar  to  this 
is  given  to  the  boy  whose  duty  it  is  to  arrange  these  parti. 


MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS  189 

phy,  that  gives  us  the  key  to  causes  of  deviation 
from  class  results. 

The  modification  of  the  table  consisted  of  mak- 
ing it  of  such  a  design  that  it  could  be  turned 
over  on  its  side  to  form  a  low  table  for  tall  or 
double-deck  braiders,  that  would  permit  motions 
of  less  fatigue. 

Final  Adjustment. 

In  its  final  form  the  method  consisted  of  hav- 
ing the  parts  of  the  braider  placed  on  the  packet 
by  an  unskilled  laborer  or  boy,  putting  large  tacks 
on  the  floor,  which  located  the  table  at  the  most 
convenient  point  possible  in  relation  to  the 
packet,  which  was  made  fast  to  the  wall  or  of 
easel  type,  on  casters,  as  the  position  where  it 
must  stand  demanded.  In  addition,  a  small 
gravity,  Johnson-Littlefield  packet  was  attached 
to  the  table.  This  conveyed  certain  parts,  by 
their  own  weight,  to  a  yet  more  convenient  posi- 
tion.^ 

iThe  Johnson-Littlefield  packet  is  a  splendid  example  of 
the  types  of  fatigue  saving  devices  that  are  suggested  by 
employees  after  they  have  been  taught  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  motion  study. 


140  FATIGUE  STUDY 

Changes  in  Tj^e  of  Work  Demanded. 

Througli  this  adjustment  the  assembler  used 
only  his  most  skilled  motions  in  doing  his  work. 
Meantime,  the  less  skilled  worker,  or  appren- 
tice, who  was  loading  the  packet,  was  learning 
the  assembly  principle,  and  receiving  an  appren- 
ticeship in  assembly  itself. 

Change  in  Mental  Attitude. 

The  effect  of  the  adjustment  was  to  establish 
easily  and  quickly  a  new  set  of  efficient  habits. 
The  parts  being  arranged  on  the  packet  in  an 
obvious  sequence,  and  the  tools  being  arranged  on 
the  table  in  the  standard  position,  the  worker 
necessarily  performed  the  work  according  to  the 
standard  method,  which  was  the  quickest  and 
least  fatiguing  method,  every  time  that  he  did  it. 
The  result  improved  his  working  method,  and 
acted  as  an  incentive  to  him  to  do  the  largest 
quantity  of  work  of  the  best  quality  that  could 
be  done  with  a  reasonable  amount  of  fatigue. 

Value  of  This  Example. 

This  example  is  even  more  valuable  as  a 
method  of  attack  in  the  adjustment  problem  than 


/  Fig.  29 
This  picture  shows  a  Littlefield-Johnson  carrier  packet. 
In  this  carrier  packet  the  carriers  by  their  own  weight 
travel  downward  to  a  standard  position  at  the  bottom  for 
grasping  without  looking  at  them,  as  fast  as  they  are  in- 
dividually removed.  This  packet  was  invented  by  two  men 
in  the  New  England  Butt  Company,  after  they  had  seen 
our  method  of  attack,  and  had  begun  to  think  of  their  work 
in  the  terms  of  elementary  and  least  fatiguing  motions. 


Fig.  30 
This  picture  shows   a   Gilbreth   packet  and  a   Gilbreth 
bench,  arranged  with  the  carrier  packet  shown  in  Fig.  31 
for  the  assembly  of  a  13-strand  braider. 


MAKING  ADJUSTMENTS  141 

it  is  as  a  specific  illustration  of  a  successful  and 
rapid  installation.  The  workers  enjoyed  the 
changes  and  accepted  them  in  the  best  spirit  of 
co-operation.  Before  using  the  method,  eighteen 
braider  base  groups  had  been  a  large  day's  work, 
per  man.  With  the  new  method,  sixty -six,  per 
man,  per  day,  were  assembled  with  no  added  fa- 
tigue. The  resulting  saving  pleased  every  one 
concerned,  and  has  assured  the  maintenance  of 
the  method.  Like  all  other  methods,  old  or  new, 
it  must  be  submitted  to  certain  definite  tests. 
These  it  has  passed  with  credit.  The  outlining 
of  such  tests  is  our  next  problem. 

Summary. 

The  problem  of  adjustment  and  its  solution  can 
best  be  illustrated  by  a  concrete  example.  This 
is  of  changes  made  in  assembling  the  base  group 
of  a  braider.  This  example  is  valuable  not  only 
as  an  incidence  of  successful  application,  but  as 
an  outline  of  an  efficient  working  method. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  outcome:    how  far  have  we  attained 

OUR  AIM? 

The  Tests  of  General  Health. 

We  will  now  assume  that  tlie  reader  has  at- 
tacked the  fatigue  problem  in  his  particular 
plant,  and  has  applied  either  preliminary  or  more 
permanent  fatigue  elimination.  There  are  vari- 
ous general  measurement  tests  which  he  may 
apply  to  the  results,  in  order  to  see  how  much 
better  the  working  condition  of  his  organization 
actually  is  than  it  was  when  he  started  in  upon 
his  fatigue-eliminating  work. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  test  of  general  health. 
It  is,  of  course,  perfectly  possible  that  an  indi- 
vidual worker's  general  health  may  go  down  un- 
der far  better  working  conditions;  this,  because 
of  some  home  influence,  or  something  in  his  gen- 
eral condition  or  his  life  away  from  work,  which 
pulls  down  his  health.  It  would  not  be  fair  to 
blame  the  work  for  any  illness  easily  traceable  to 

142 


THE  OUTCOME  14S 

home  conditions,  to  an  epidemic  prevalent,  or  to 
some  certain  outside  source;  but,  if  conditions 
away  froui  work  have  remained  fixed,  there  is 
every  reason  to  expect  that  general  health  should 
improve  with  fatigue  elimination.  This  we  find 
in  actual  practice  is  the  case.  Even  where  fa- 
tigue is  not  materially  cut  down  during  working 
hours,  because  measurement  shows  that  the 
worker  is  not  getting  over-fatigued,  the  general 
health  is  apt  to  improve  because  of  greater  regu- 
larity in  habits  of  work,  and  because  of  better 
physical  and  mental  habits,  while  doing  the 
work.  The  path  along  this  line  is  a  continu- 
ous, never-ending,  upward  spiral.  Fatigue  is 
eliminated  by  establishing  proper  habits. 
Proper  habits  improve  health.  The  improved 
health  allows  of  more  work  with  less  fatigue,  etc. 

The  Test  of  Prolonged  Activity. 

In  order  to  be  thoroughly  satisfactory,  obser- 
vations of  the  effect  of  the  changes  upon  the 
worker  must  be  made  during  a  long  period.  The 
worker's  greatest  asset  is  his  ability  to  work. 
In  order  to  prove  its  value,  fatigue  eliminating 
work  must  actually  show  results  in  prolonging 


IM  FATIGUE  STUDY 

the  years  that  he  is  able  to  devote  to  his  life 
work.  This  in  practice  it  does.  Not  only  does 
the  average  worker  remain  physically  able  to 
work  more  years  than  where  no  fatigue  elimina- 
tion has  taken  place,  but  also  through  the  fa- 
tigue study  and  motion  study,  which  he  has  co- 
operated to  make,  he  learns  to  be  able  to  teach 
that  thing,  or  those  things,  at  which  he  is  most 
skilled,  and  thus  to  prolong  his  years  of  economic 
value.  You  must  note  how  many  of  your  work- 
ers are  beyond  the  usual  working  age,  and  are 
still  at  work.  Some  of  these  will  be  working  at 
the  work  itself;  that  is,  in  the  performing  de- 
partment. Others  will  be  planning  or  teaching 
the  work  in  some  way.  The  number  of  these  and 
their  condition  will  form  an  admirable  unit  of 
measurement  of  the  success  of  your  work. 

The  Test  of  Posture. 

The  third  test  is  that  of  posture.  Take  an- 
other walk  through  your  plant,  and  look  at  those 
workers  to  whom  fatigue  elimination  work  has 
been  applied,  and  note  how  they  are  sitting,  or 
standing,  or  walking. 

The  American  Posture  League,  with  headquar- 


THE  OUTCOME  145 

ters  at  30  Church  Street,  New  York  City,  will 
gladly  furnish  standards  for  proper  posture  in 
various  positions.  It  will  be  impossible,  of 
course,  to  eradicate  wrong  habits  of  posture  in  a 
short  time,  no  matter  how  radical  the  change  may 
be,  but  you  should  note  improvements.  At  least 
each  worker  should  be  so  placed  that  he  could 
work  in  the  proper  posture  if  he  chose,  and  so 
that  the  proper  posture  will  be  the  easiest  for 
him.  If  the  chairs,  benches,  levers,  or  devices 
force  him  to  assume  the  proper  posture,  so  much 
the  better.  Consideration  of  the  devices  shows, 
unfortunately,  that  few  are  designed  for  oper- 
ation with  least  fatigue ;  more  being  designed  to 
use  the  least  quantity  of  material. 

In  the  case  of  young  workers,  especially,  it  is 
surprising  how  quickly  the  proper  devices  will 
induce  the  correct  posture,  especially  if  the  bet- 
terment staff  co-operate  to  explain  the  correct 
posture,  and  its  effect  upon  health.  Where  no 
betterment  staff  exists,  the  posters  of  the  Pos- 
ture League  will  serve  as  desirable  examples  and 
object  lessons.  Here  again,  as  in  so  many  other 
places,  "  fashion  of  work ''  is  a  most  important 
element.     Let  correct  posture  become  the  fash- 


146  FATIGUE  STUDY 

ion,  and  let  the  devices  make  the  posture  possible, 
and  astonishing  results  will  follow. 

It  is,  of  course,  always  a  great  aid  to  make 
anything  that  one  desires  the  easiest  thing  to  do. 
The  proper  chairs  and  work  j)laces  make  correct 
posture  the  easiest  posture  to  hold.  This  is  a 
great  force  towards  maintaining  it. 

The  Test  of  Behaviour  and  Implied  Mental  Atti- 
tude. 

The  fourth  test  is  to  observe  the  behaviour  of 
the  workers.  Do  their  actions,  their  resulting 
work,  and  whole  attitude  towards  the  work  indi- 
cate that  the  fatigue  eliminating  work  has  been 
effective?  There  should  be  better  "  habits  of 
work"  than  have  ever  existed  before.  More 
work  should  be  turned  over  to  the  habit  processes, 
and  the  formation  and  maintenance  of  good 
habits  should  become  a  part  of  the  day's  work. 
It  should  be  noted  just  exactly  what  seems  to  be 
the  kind  and  amount  of  incentive  that  keeps  the 
workers  at  the  work.  If  the  fatigue  elimination 
has  done  what  it  should  along  its  line,  the  reason 
for  doing  the  work  as  it  is  being  done  will  be  the 
belief  that  this  way  is  the  best  way  yet  found,  a 


THE  OUTCOME  147 

belief  that  one  is  safe  in  following  the  method, 
since  proper  allowance  for  fatigue  has  been  made. 
There  should  also  be  present  a  desire  to  con- 
tribute to  the  welfare  of  all  by  looking  for  easy 
ways,  as  well  as  scientifically-derived  ways,  to 
eliminate  fatigue,  while  at  the  same  time  follow- 
ing the  best  method  as  yet  available. 

The  question  of  motivation  is  one  demanding 
understanding  and  serious  consideration  in  every 
field  of  activity  to-day.  This  is  true  in  educa- 
tion. It  is  also  true  in  the  industries.  The  mo- 
tive of  getting  all  that  one  can  for  one's  work 
must  always  exist,  and  is  a  perfectly  justifiable 
motive,  but  the  fatigue-eliminating  work  cannot 
be  considered  successfully,  unless  this  motive  of 
self  interest  has  also  with  it  the  motive  of  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  others,  and  in  cutting  out  all 
fatigue  that  can  effect  any  member  of  the  group 
in  any  way.  This  feeling  should  express  itself 
in  a  social  attitude,  which  is  another  behaviour 
test.  If  every  member  of  the  organization  stands 
ready  to  endorse  the  fatigue  elimination,  and  to 
co-operate  in  further  fatigue  elimination  for  the 
good  of  all,  the  social  attitude  shows  that  the 
work  that  has  been  done  is  worth  while. 


148  FATIGUE  STUDY 

The  Test  of  Transference  of  Skill. 

The  amount  of  skill  that  is  successfully  trans- 
ferred may  be  used  as  a  test  of  fatigue  elimina- 
tion. Each  member  of  the  organization  is  sup- 
posed to  transfer  skill,  and  also  to  acquire  skill. 
He  transfers  to  others  the  skill  in  the  lines  of 
work  in  which  he  is  proficient,  yet  which  are  not 
the  highest  types  of  work  that  he  can  do.  He 
learns  from  others  such  types  of  work  as  are  of 
the  highest  type  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to 
learn,  that  he  has  never  had  an  opportunity  to 
learn  because  of  the  time  taken  by  work  requir- 
ing less  skill,  that  it  was  necessary  under  the  old 
plan  for  him  to  do. 

It  is  a  fallacy  to  suppose  that  work  which  does 
not  demand  all  the  skill  at  one's  disposal  is  less 
fatiguing  than  work  which  does.  Work  is  not 
less  fatiguing  because  it  demands  less  skill.  It 
is  less  fatiguing  when  it  is  done  with  ease  and 
when  there  is  a  joy  of  achievement  requiring 
skill;  that  is,  when  it  is  satisfying.  Because  of 
lack  of  opportunity,  one  may  only  perform  with 
ease  the  work  which  does  not  demand  much  skill. 
As  soon  as  he  learns  to  perform  the  skilled  work 
with  ease,  it  causes  even  less  fatigue,  other  things 


THE  OUTCOME  149 

being  equal,  than  does  unskilled  work,  because  it 
holds  the  interest,  hence  the  attention,  more 
easily. 

We  enjoy  doing  that  which  we  can  do  well. 
Whether  we  improve  in  the  doing  because  we  take 
pleasure  in  doing  it,  or  simply  because  the  pleas- 
ure makes  us  do  more,  and  we  improve  with  the 
practice,  is  not  of  great  importance.  Psycholo- 
gists are  divided  in  their  opinions  as  to  the  effect 
of  pleasure  upon  work,  but  all  agree  that,  directly 
or  indirectly,  pleasure  in  the  work  does  affect  the 
work  favourably.  Through  the  transference  of 
skill  this  pleasure  is  given  to  the  work,  or  in- 
creased in  the  work,  and,  therefore,  the  amount 
of  skill  transferred  is  a  test  of  fatigue  elimina- 
tion. 

Test  of  "  Happiness  Minutes,"  Individual  and 
Social. 

The  final  test  of  fatigue  elimination,  as  of 
every  other  change  made  in  doing  things,  is  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  total  output  of  "  Happiness 
Minutes.'^  The  aim  of  life  is  happiness,  no  mat- 
ter how  we  differ  as  to  what  true  happiness 
means.    Fatigue  elimination,  starting  as  it  does 


150  FATIGUE  STUDY 

from  a  desire  to  conserve  human  life  and  to  elimi- 
nate enormous  waste,  must  increase  "  Happiness 
Minutes/'  no  matter  what  else  it  does,  or  it  has 
failed  in  its  fundamental  aim.  Have  you  reason 
to  believe  that  your  workers  are  really  happier 
because  of  the  work  that  you  have  done  on  fa- 
tigue study?  Do  they  look  happier,  and  say  they 
are  happier?  Then  your  fatigue  eliminating 
work  has  been  worth  while  in  the  highest  sense 
of  the  term,  no  matter  what  the  financial  out- 
come. Naturally  the  savings  that  accrue  must 
benefit  every  one,  but  saving  lies  at  the  root  of 
fatigue  elimination,  and,  if  every  member  of  the 
organization,  including  the  manager  and  the 
stockholders,  is  getting  more  "  Happiness  Min- 
utes," you  surely  are  working  along  the  right 
lines. 

Social  "  Happiness  Minutes ''  will  consist  of 
the  sum  of  the  individual  "  Happiness  Minutes  '' 
plus  that  intangible  thing  called  "  social  spirit.'^ 
It  is  exemplified  in  a  case  like  this :  A  certain 
group  of  workers  had  been  studied  from  the  mo- 
tion study  and  the  fatigue  standpoint.  The  re- 
sult of  the  work  had  been  incorporated  in  their 
daily  practice,  and  they  had  been  working  for  a 


Figs.  32  and  33 
These  pictures  are  of  meetings  of  the  Foreman's  Club  at 
the  New  England  Butt  Co.  examining  films  of  methods  of 
least  fatigue,  proposed  for  standardization. 


THE  OUTCOME  151 

period  of  many  months  under  the  readjusted 
working  conditions  and  with  the  new  methods. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  they  were  gathered  at  a 
foremen's  meeting,  where  a  micromotion  film, 
showing  the  development  of  the  methods  which 
they  used,  was  presented.  In  discussing  the  film 
the  speaker  took  the  occasion  to  say  that  on  ob- 
serving the  work  in  the  plant  he  felt  that  some 
lapses  from  the  method  prescribed  were  in  exist- 
ence. The  next  morning,  when  he  walked 
through  the  plant,  he  was  stopped  by  a  worker, 
who  said,  "  See  here !  I  don't  believe  we  are 
falling  aAvay  from  that  method  a  bit.  If  we  are, 
just  show  us  where,  and  we  will  go  straight 
back  to  it.  We  want  to  play  the  game  right." 
This  is  the  test  of  the  outcome.  Is  the  organiza- 
tion lined  up  as  one  man  back  of  the  work?  If 
so,  the  problem  of  maintenance  and  of  automatic 
improvement  is  solved. 

Summary. 

At  any  stage  in  the  process  of  fatigue  elimina- 
tion the  results  may  be  tested.  The  general 
health  of  the  worker,  his  prolonged  activity,  his 
posture,  his  behaviour  act  as  such  tests.     To 


152  FATIGUE  STUDY 

these  may  be  added  the  amount  of  skill  trans- 
ferred and  being  transferred,  and  the  effect,  in 
particular,  on  "  Happiness  Minutes."  If  the  or- 
ganization endorses  the  work  and  co-operates  in 
it,  the  work  may  be  rated  successful. 


CHAPTEE  X 

THE  future:    what  each  one  of  us  can  do 

The  Work  o£  the  Colleges. 

It  should  be  the  work  of  the  colleges  to  gather 
together  what  has  been  done  in  fatigue  elimina- 
tion, and  to  put  it  at  the  disposal  of  all  inter- 
ested. Each  college  should  start  a  fatigue  mu- 
seum, and  should  invite  its  graduates  first,  and 
all  those  in  its  vicinity  second,  to  co-operate  and 
to  send  exhibits  or  pictures  of  exhibits  to  its  mu- 
seum. The  colleges  are  recognized  as  not  inter- 
ested in  any  particular  industry,  as  fair  and 
impartial,  and  as  standing  for  uplift  in  the  com- 
munity. It  is,  therefore,  their  duty  to  act  as 
repositories  for  the  data,  at  least  until  such  times 
as  the  national  government  takes  over  the  lead- 
ership in  the  entire  fatigue  question,  and  becomes 
the  custodian  of  the  data. 

The  colleges  can  help  in  a  second  way  by  mak- 
ing fatigue  study  a  subject  in  the  curriculum. 

153 


154  FATIGUE  STUDY 

It  is  not  necessary  that  this  be  a  new  subject.  It 
should  rather  be  a  new  aspect  in  which  the  old 
subjects  are  presented.  Especially  in  the  col- 
leges of  engineering  and  business  administration 
great  emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  fatigue  study, 
both  the  theory  and  the  practice.  It  is  not  essen- 
tial that  the  students  be  sent  out  into  the  shops 
for  actual  practice  in  such  study,  although  any- 
thing like  the  half-time  plan  is  to  be  commended. 
The  student  may  well  apply  fatigue  study  to  his 
own  activities.  This  will  present  an  admirable 
field  and  a  splendid  incentive.  After  such  a 
study  the  fatigue  problem  will  never  again  seem 
remote  or  vague  to  the  student.  Also  the  stu- 
dent may  well  be  sent,  or  taken,  on  tours  of  in- 
spection through  neighbouring  industries,  or  may 
be  allowed  to  co-operate  in  preliminary  fatigue 
surveys.  They  should  learn  the  general  princi- 
ple of  fatigue  study,  and  should  become  finger- 
wise.  This  preparation  is  identical  to  that  for 
making  motion  study,  and,  in  fact,  is  prerequisite 
or  first  step  for  greatest  success  in  any  mana- 
gerial work. 

But  the  college  should  not  confine  its  activity 
in  fatigue  elimination  to  the  museum,  and  to 


THE  FUTURE  155 

training  the  student  who  expects  to  enter  the 
field.  They  should  themselves  become  examples 
of  successful  fatigue  elimination.  In  this  way 
they  can  do  most  to  cut  down  waste,  and  to  train 
our  young  people  to  take  an  active  part  later  in 
the  waste  elimination  campaign  being  waged  in 
the  world's  work. 

The  Work  of  the  Manager. 

The  fatigue  study  and  the  installation  which 
must  follow  it  to  be  done  by  the  manager  have 
been  outlined  in  this  book.  The  manager  who 
has  put  his  own  plant  at  such  a  stage  of  improve- 
ment that  unnecessary  fatigue  is  cut  out  to  a 
great  extent,  and  that  recovery  from  necessary 
fatigue  is  provided  for,  has  contributed  greatly 
to  the  cause,  but  his  work  should  not  end  here. 
He  should  educate  those  with  whom  he  comes  in 
contact  on  the  subject  of  fatigue  elimination. 
He  should  co-operate  with  those  in  his  own  neigh- 
bourhood, and  also  with  those  in  his  own  trade 
towards  solving  the  fatigue  problem  peculiar  to 
the  locality  or  the  trade. 

The  Home  Reading  Box  has  been  successfully 
installed  by  a  group  of  manufacturers  engaged  in 


156  FATIGUE  STUDY 

the  same  trade.  This  particular  work  furnishes 
an  admirable  starting  point,  and  is  a  great  help 
in  arousing  local  interest.  If  even  a  few  inter- 
ested in  the  same  trade  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  will  co-operate,  it  will  soon  be  possible, 
through  trade  journals,  and  through  a  general 
demand  for  equipment  designed  from  the  fatigue 
standpoint,  to  revolutionize  fatigue  conditions  in 
that  industry.  Editors  and  writers  of  papers  of 
all  types  have  been  quick  to  see  the  benefits  of 
fatigue  elimination,  and  to  offer  to  co-operate  in 
a  campaign  for  education.  Manufacturers  have 
been  equally  eager  to  satisfy  any  demands  which 
may  be  made.  The  managers  can  have  a  large 
share  in  making  such  demands,  and  in  encourag- 
ing the  support  of  publications  in  which  they  are 
interested. 

The  Work  of  the  Worker. 

The  worker  has  two  chief  ways  in  which  he 
can  help  in  fatigue  elimination.  The  first  is  to 
co-operate  with  the  management  in  installing  fa- 
tigue elimination  methods  and  devices  in  the 
particular  plant  in  which  they  are  both  inter- 
ested.   The  second  is  to  help  to  make  fatigue 


THE  FUTURE  157 

elimination  fashionable.  This  latter  duty  lies 
with  no  one  but  the  worker  himself.  No  new 
methods  spread  more  quickly  than  the  "  fashion 
of  work."  There  is  nothing  of  which  a  well  run 
plant  is  more  proud  than  the  "  way  "  it  works, 
the  work  spirit.  The  whole  idea  must  be  that  it 
is  a  disgrace  to  have  causes  of  unnecessary  fa- 
tigue existing.  Overfatigue  is  a  positive  proof 
of  inefficiency.  There  is  no  fear  but  that  the 
workers  will  recognize  these  duties,  and  will  per- 
form them  heartily  and  with  good  will,  when  they 
know  that  they  are  getting  a  square  deal.  It  is 
right  that  they  should  make  very  sure  that  they 
are  going  to  receive  such  treatment,  and  that  fa- 
tigue study  is  not  a  new  scheme  for  taking  ad- 
vantage of  them,  but  they  must  be  ready  to  listen 
to  the  proof  and  to  accept  it  when  they  are  con- 
vinced that  it  is  true.  Having  accepted  it,  and 
thus  made  sure  that  they  are  safe  in  co-operating, 
the  next  step  is  to  help  actively  in  the  good  work. 

The  Work  of  the  Public. 

The  great  work  of  the  public  is  to  demand  fa- 
tigue elimination.  The  adoption  of  a  few  simple 
slogans,  like  "  Buy  of  the  seated  worker,"  would 


158  FATIGUE  STUDY 

help  bring  immediate  results  in  fatigue  elimina- 
tion. Consider  wliat  the  Consumers'  League 
has  done  in  securing  better  working  conditions. 
Note  how  the  "  Safety  First "  movement  has 
spread  through  the  whole  country.  The  "  Fa- 
tigue Eliminating  Movement "  can  spread  in  the 
same  way,  if  only  every  one  will  do  his  part  to 
demand  that  the  fatigue  be  reduced  and  to  help 
in  the  actual  reduction. 

The  workers  of  the  country  have  long  recog- 
nized the  need  for  fatigue  elimination;  the  em- 
ployers are  coming  to  a  realization  that  they  are 
paying  a  large  price  for  fatigue.  Many  employ- 
ers have  resolved  that,  so  far  as  their  plants  are 
concerned,  needless  fatigue  must  be  eliminated. 
They  have  resolved  that  the  day  is  coming  when 
every  worker  shall  go  home  from  work  happy  in 
what  he  has  done,  with  the  least  amount  of  un- 
necessary fatigue,  and  prepared  to  go  back  in  per- 
fect condition  on  the  morrow.  How  soon  this 
much  desired  time  will  arrive  depends  upon  the 
co-operation  of  the  public,  upon  the  public  senti- 
ment that  can  be  aroused. 

There  is  no  reader  of  this  book  who  does  not 
belong  to  at  least  two  groups  that  should  be  in- 


THE  FUTURE  159 

terested  in  fatigue  elimination.  Decide  at  once, 
tlien,  in  which  group  jou  belong,  and  set  to  work. 
Be  Tou  teacher,  manager,  worker,  or  simply  a 
member  of  the  great  public  to  which  we  all  be- 
long, begin  to  work  for  fatigue  elimination,  and 
begin  now. 

The  good  in  your  life  consists  of  the  quantity 
of  '^  Happiness  Minutes  '•  that  you  have  created 
or  caused.  Increase  your  own  record  by  elimi- 
nating unnecessary  fatigue  of  the  workers. 


THE  END 


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